LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


OK 


Class 


The  FRED.   W.   WOLF  CO. 

MANUFACTURERS    OF 


M^CHINERT 


139  Rees  Street  -  Foot  of  Dayton 
C  H I  C  A  G  0,      U.  S.  A. 


V        (7- ( 


THE 
BEET  SUGAR  INDUSTRY 


A   SHORT  TREATISE   ON 


SUGARBEET  CULTURE  AND  THE 
MANUFACTURE   OF  BEET  SUGAR 


BY 


THE   FRED   W.  WOLF  COMPANY 

DESIGNERS  AND  BUILDERS  OF 
MACHINERY  AND  APPARATUS 
FOR  THE  MANUFACTURE  OF 
BEET  SUGAR 


GENERAL  OFFICES  AND  WORKS 

I39'I43   Rees  Street  302-330  Hawthorne  Avenue 

CHICAGO,   U.  S.  A. 

1899 


AMONG 

THE  ILLUSTRATIONS 
IN  THE  FOLLOWING  PAGES  WILL  BE 

FOUND  EXTERIOR  AND  INTERIOR  VIEWS  OF  THE  FIRST 
BEET   SUGAR  FACTORY  ERECTED    1898  IN  THE    STATE  OF  MICHIGAN 


;       VDE  SIGNED,       BUILT       AND       EQUIPPED      BY 

<H\     THE  FRED  W.  WOLF    COMPANY 


MICHIGAN  SUGAR  Co.,  BAY  CITY, 

MICHIGAN    .    .    .    Daily  Capacity  450  Tons. 

ALSO    INTERIOR    AND    EXTERIOR    VIEWS    OF 


THE  DETROIT  SUGAR   COMPANY'S  FACTORY,    ROCHESTER,   MICHIGAN, 

Daily  Capacity,  500  Tons,  and  the  Factory  of  the 

KALAMAZOO    BEET   SUGAR    CO.,    KALAMAZOO,    MICH., 
Daily  Capacity  500  Tons 

ERECTED    IN 
1899 


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PREFACE. 


In  offering  this  little  book  to  the  intending  beet  grower,  the  capitalist 
wishing  to  invest  money  in  this  new  and  promising  industry  of  manufac- 
turing sugar  from  beets,  we  do  not  lay  claim  to  present  a  scientific  work, 
covering  in  detail  every  feature  of  the  beet  sugar  industry.  Our  object 
simply  is  to  explain,  in  condensed  form,  the  main  feature  of  the  subject 
and  to  offer  reliable  help  and  counsel  to  the  farmer  who  wishes  to  raise 
beets  and  the  capitalist  who  is  to  manufacture  them  into  sugar. 

The  Sugar  Department  of  The  Fred  W.  Wolf  Co.,  with  its  large  staff 
of  experts  is  in  a  position  and  stands  ready  at  all  times  to  assist  by  deed 
and  counsel,  all  those  who  desire  to  engage  in  the  beet  sugar  industry. 
The  company  will  contract  to  furnish  the  machinery  for,  or  erect  sugar 
factories  complete  in  every  detail  and  will  take  it  upon  itself  to  furnish 
the  skilled  labor  necessary  for  their  successful  operation.  If  desired  the 
company  will  also  put  the  factories  built  by  it  in  operation,  or  conduct 
the  first  working  campaign  from  start  to  finish,  guaranteeing  to  turn  out 
the  best  marketable  product. 

We  hope  that  our  aim,  presented  by  the  following  pages,  to  promote 
the  introduction  of  this  new  and  promising  industry,  will  meet  with 
intelligent  understanding  and  enable  those  who  wish  to  participate  in  it 
to  save  money. 

THE  AUTHORS. 


Part  I. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  INDUSTRY. 


GENERAL  On  the  i  ith  of  January  of  this  year  the  Beet  Sugar 

HISTORY  OF  Industry  celebrated  its  looth  anniversary  in  Germa- 
RJn  FT*  ny>  the  land  of  its  cradle,  from  whence  it  spread  in  a 

QJIY-I  .  .^  comparatively  short  time  all  over  Europe,  develop- 

ing in  a  most  wonderful  industrial  power.     More 

correctly  the  birth  of  the  Beet  Sugar  Industry  dates  back  in  the  year  1747, 
when  the  German  chemist  Margraf  published  the  result  of  his  investiga- 
tions regarding  the  availability  of  certain  beet  varieties  as  sugar  produ- 
cers. However  these  investigations  did  not  lead  to  any  practical  result, 
and  it  was  left  to  Franz  Carl  Achard,  director  of  the  Royal  Prussian  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences,  to  repeat  and  expand  Margraf 's  investigations,  and  to 
demonstrate  not  only  the  presence  of  crystalline  sugar  in  certain  beets, 
but  also  the  feasibility  to  extract  this  sugar  on  a  paying  scale.  Achard 
therefore  may  justly  be  called  the  father  of  this  industry,  which  has  pro- 
ven of  such  immense  value  to  the  agricultural  and  industrial  interests>of 
all  Beet  growing  countries.  One  may  well  doubt  that  Achard,  when  one 
hundred  years  ago,  making  his  report  to  King  Frederick  William  III, 
concerning  the  extraction  of  sugar  from  beets,  ever  supposed  that  his 
efforts  were  laying  the  cornerstone  of  an  industry  of  its  present  magni- 
tude. Achard' s  report  resulted  in  a  goverment  order,  that  beets  should 
be  raised  in  large  quantities  in  all  provinces,  and  the  establishment  in 
1799  of  the  first  beet  sugar  factory  upon  his  own  property  at  Kunern, 
near  Steinan,  in  lower  Silesia.  Up  to  the  time  of  Achard' s  invention 
sugar  had  always  been  very  expensive.  The  possession  of  sugar  in  the 
middle  ages  signified  a  princely  fortune.  Thus  it  is  related,  that  the 
third  wife  of  Charles  V  at  her  death  left  four  small  sugar  cones,  weigh- 
ing each  five  pounds.  Even  at  the  time  of  Achard,  one  pound  of  sugar 
cost  from  $1.50  to  $2.00.  Still  Achard 's  efforts  might  have  been  lost  in 
oblivion,  as  the  cost  of  production  was  considerably  in  excess  of  the 
price  of  the  product,  had  it  not  been  for  Napoleon  I,  who  in  order  to 
cripple  and  destroy  English  commerce,  ordered  and  maintained  a  blocade 
of  continental  parts  of  Europe  againist  English  colonial  products.  This 


gave  a  fresh  stimulus  to  the  erection  of  additional  factories  in  Saxony, 
Silesia,  Bohemia,  Austria,  and  especially  in  Belgium  and  France. 

The  success  of  these  factories,  and  their  threatened  competition  with 
colonial  sugar,  England's  monopoly,  spread  great  alarm  under  the 
English  importers,  and  large  sums  of  money  were  offered  to  Achard  in 
order  to  induce  him  to  repudiate  his  invention.  They  wanted  him  to 
publish  a  work,  stating  that  his  enthusiasm  for  beet  sugar  had  deceived 
him,  and  that  his  experiments  on  a  larger  scale  had  shown  him  that  beet 
sugar  could  never  replace  cane  sugar.  They  are  said  to  have  offered  him 
at  first  $50,000,  and  later  even  .$200,000,  but  he  refused  to  retract. 
Neither  threats,  blandishments,  nor  bribes  availed  with  him.  The 
English  importers  aided  by  the  English  colonial  office  left  nothing 


MICHIGAN    SUGAR   CD'S   FACTORY,    BAY   CITY,    MICHIGAN. 
FRONT   VIEW. 

untried  in  their  efforts  to  kill  the  beet  sugar  industry  in  the  bud.  They 
went  that  far,  as  to  induce  the  best  known  savants  of  the  day,  even  such 
a  man  as  Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  to  write  treatises  in  which  the  new  inven- 
tion was  ridiculed,  the  product  decried,  and  the  most  direful  results 
predicted. 

Verily,  '  'history  repeats  itself '  it  is  a  wise  teacher  and  wise  people 
will  ponder  over  its  lessons  and  read  wisdom  therefrom.  May  not  the 
pioneers  of  the  beet  sugar  industry  in  our  country,  where  we  are  still  in 
the  pioneer  stage,  be  encouraged  and  justly  so  by  Achard' s  example. 

Although  in  the  early  days  of  beet  sugar,  the  product  amounted  to 
but  two  to  three  per  cent  of  the  original  weight  of  the  beets,  the  facto- 


ries  soon  stood  on  a  paying  basis,  owing  to  the  high  price  to  the  product 
commanded.  This  was  especially  the  case  in  France,  where  under  the 
powerful  patronage  of  Napoleon  the  industry  made  rapid  strides.  After 
the  downfall  of  Napoleon  and  the  removal  of  the  continental  blockade 
the  beet  sugar  industry  in  Germany,  owing  to  the  renewed  competition 
of  colonial  sugars  became  less  prosperous.  Colonial  sugar  became 
cheaper  and  cheaper,  and  notwithstanding  the  improvements  in  the 
chemical,  technical  and  mechanical  branches  of  the  beet  sugar  manu- 
facture the  return  was  still  so  limited,  that  the  manufacturers  could  not 
cope  with  the  colonial  competitor.  They  lost  money,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence many  factories  closed  down  for  good.  In  France,  partly  owing 
to  improved  methods  of  manufacture  devised  by  French  chemists,  and 
partly  as  a  consequence  of  the  national  antipathy  to  England  and 
English  products  the  industry  continued  to  prosper  in  a  measure,  and 
from  1812  to  1836  France  was  the  chief  nursery  of  the  beet  sugar 
industry.  In  1828  there  were  already  103  smaller  beet  sugar  factories 
in  operation  in  France.  Constant  and  diligent  study,  resulted  in 
simplifying  and  improving  the  process  of  manufacture  and  increasing  the 
percentage  of  refined  sugar  originally  obtained  from  the  raw  material. 
Instead  of  two  to  three  per  cent,  as  much  as  five  and  six  per  cent  was 
now  obtained  and  the  production  of  beet  sugar  rapidly  increased, 
amounting  to  about  40,000  tons  in  1835. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  industry  had  struggled  along  slowly  in 
Germany,  but  in  the  early  thirties  it  received  a  fresh  impetus. 

In  1834  three  men,  Zier,  Hanewald  and  Arnoldi,  associated  them- 
selves in  Onedlinburg  for  the  purpose  of  building  and  starting  sugar 
factories  on  a  paying  basis.  This  trio  of  promotors  succeeded  to  allure 
by  brilliant  promises  many  capitalists  of  their  day  to  invest  money  in  the 
industry.  They  built  quite  a  number  of  factories,  but  it  is  not  recorded 
that  a  single  one  of  them  turned  out  a  howling  success.  But  this  was 
not  so  much  the  fault  of  those  early  promotors  of  beet  sugar  enterprises, 
as  owing  to  the  fact,  that  the  chief  principles  of  the  culture  of  sugar 
beets  and  the  art  of  sugar  making  was  not  as  yet  fully  understood. 

Agricultural  methods  especially  were  as  yet  in  a  very  primitive 
stage,  and  it  proved  especially  difficult  to  obtain  good  beets.  The 
saccharometor  having  not  yet  been  invented,  it  was  almost  impossible 
to  tell  good  beets  from  poor  ones.  But  both  in  field  and  laboratory 
improvement  followed  upon  improvement.  One  of  the  foremost  cham- 
pions of  the  sugar  industry,  the  chemist  Franz  Schatten,  who  was 
associated  originally  with  Fritz  Wrede  in  Halberstadt,  then  with  Weihe 
in  Wegeleben  and  last  with  Schreiber  in  Hermigen,  about  this  time 
constructed  the  first  saccharometer  for  ascertaining  the  amount  of  sugar 
in  beets,  the  principle  of  his  apparatus  being  based  upon  the  formation 
of  lime  sugar,  and  the  determination  of  the  sugar  content  by  titration 


with  acids.  Of  course  his  apparatus  is  no  longer  in  use,  but  in  his  time 
it  was  a  great  boon  to  the  industry.  Schatten  also  constructed  the  first 
apparatus  for  the  examination  of  bone  coal  as  to  its  contents  of  lime. 
His  process  of  revitalizing  bone  coal,  and  his  bone  furnaces  are  to  this 
day  in  use  in  many  sugar  factories.  The  use  of  carbonic  acid  in  treating 
the  sugar  juice  is  likewise  one  of  Schatten's  inventions,  and  to  his  zeal 
and  genius  the  remarkable  progress  of  the  sugar  industry  in  Germany  is 
mainly  due.  At  the  beginning  of  the  forties  he  and  others,  (we  only 
name  :  Marker-Halle,  Schulz-Lupiz,  Schinner-Neuhaus,  and  Ring- 
Duppel),  by  scientific  researches  and  practical  experiments  had  demon- 
strated the  fact,  that  from  properly  cultivated  beets  from  six  to  eight  per 
cent  refined  sugar  were  obtainable.  The  high  protective  tariff  which 


MICHIGAN   SUGAR    CO. 'S   FACTORY,    BAY   CITY,    MICHIGAN. 
REAR    VIEW. 


was  placed  at  the  time  upon  foreign  sugars  served  as  a  further  incentive 
for  the  growth  of  the  industry.  Germany  in  one  bound  took  the  lead  as 
the  beet  sugar  producer  of  Europe,  and  has  held  this  place  ever  since, 
outdistancing  all  competitors.  Aided  by  adequate  legislation  within  a 
comparatively  short  time  the  industry  assumed  larger  proportions  until 
it  became  a  potent  factor  under  the  agricultural  and  manufacturing 
industries  of  the  land. 

According   to   the   official   "statistical   year   book   of   the  German 
empire,  XV  year",  there  were  in  operation  : 

10 


WORKING  SEASON 

NUMBER 
OF  FACTORIES 

QUANTITY  OF 
BEETS  WORKED 

AVERAGE  WORKED 
PER  FACTORY 

TONS 

TONS 

1873-74 

337 

3,528,764 

10,471 

1883-84       . 
1892-93 

376 

401 

8,918,930 
9  811,940 

23,718 
24,466 

From  this  it  will  be  seen,  that  while  during  the  twenty  years  1873-74 
to  1893-94,  the  number  of  factories  only  increased  nineteen  per  cent,  the 
quantity  of  beets  worked  increased  178.1  per  cent.  At  the  beginning  of 
said  period  each  factory  worked  upon  an  average  of  10,471  tons,  while  at 
the  end  already  24,466  tons  were  worked  up  by  each  factory.  Still  more 
important  was  the  increase  in  the  output  of  refined  sugar,  owing  to 
improved  methods  of  beet  culture,  resulting  in  production  of  beets  of 
higher  sugar  content,  and  the  improvement  in  the  process  of  sugar 
manufacture. 

In  1873-74  the  product  amounted  to  291,041  tons;  in  1892-93  to 
1, 175,137  tons,  or  four  times  the  former  amount;  in  1873-74,  12,12  kilos, 
were  required  to  produce  i  kilo,  of  sugar;  in  1892-93  only  8,35  kilos, 
were  required  to  produce  i  kilo,  of  sugar.  Germany  has  now  over  400 
beet  sugar  factories  contributing  in  round  figures  2,000,000  tons,  (about 
three-quarters  of  which  is  exported  to  other  countries),  out  of  a  total 
annual  production  of  Europe  amounting  to  nearly  5,000,000  tons,  or  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  sugar  produced  in  the  world. 

Germany  alone  produces  the  amount  equal  to  the  present  total 
annual  imports  of  sugar  in  the  United  States.  From  the  same  official 
source  already  mentioned  we  obtain  the  following  data  concerning  the 
beet  sugar  industry  in  Germany  for  the  two  seasons. 

1897-98       !      1896-97 


Factories  in  operation  

402 

399 

Refineries  in  operation  .                                                       * 

50 

51 

Total  beet  area,  (  acres  )  

1,080,256 

1,049,456 

Average  yield  per  acre,  (tons)  

1,222 

1,283 

Beets  worked,  (tons)  ?  .... 

13,697,891 

13,721,691 

Total  sugar  production,  based  on  raw  sugar,  (tons)  
Sugar  in  beet,  (per  cenU  

1,844,379 
12.79 

1,821,223 
12.66 

Field  of  sugar  per  acre,  (pounds) 

3  763 

3851 

Imports  of  sugars,  (tons  )  

1,298 

1,532 

Exports  of  sugars,  (tons)  

1  087  049 

1,310,713 

Domestic  consumption,  (tons)  

708  237 

561,889 

Consumption  per  capita,  (pounds) 

259 

202 

Consumption  tax  

$32  626  230 

$29,643,148 

Import  dutv  .  . 

105  910 

142,800 

Export  bounty  

8  724  142 

5,083,756 

Net  profit  

24  007  208 

21  702  192 

11 


In  this  connection  the  following  data  pertaining  to  number  of  fac- 
tories, yield  of  beets  per  acre,  yield  of  sugar,  etc.,  in  the  principal  beet 
sugar  producing  countries,  1895-96,  may  be  of  interest. 

Germany  Number  of  factories  397;  beets  worked  10,589,413  tons; 
number  of  acres  cultivated  930,245  .  mean  yield  per  acre 
13.8  tons  ;  mean  price  of  beets  $4.64  per  ton  ;  yield  of  raw  sugar  13.11 
per  cent,  on  weight  of  beets  ;  average  output  of  raw  sugar  per  factory, 
3,690  tons. 

France     Number  of  factories  356;    beets  worked  4,909,221  tons;    yield 
of  refined  sugar  10.97  on  weight  of  beets  ;   number  of  acres  cul- 


MICHIGAN   SUGAR   CO.'S   FACTORY,    BAY   CITY,    MICHIGAN. 
REAR  VIEW—  SHOWING  UME 


tivated  405,852  ;    yield  of  beets  9.5  tons  per  acre  ;    average  output  of 
refined  sugar  per  factory,  1,702  tons. 

Austria-      Number    of   factories    216;    beets    worked    5,225,390  tons; 

Hungary     yield  of  raw  sugar  13.5  percent,  on  weight  of  beets  ;  averege 

output  of  raw  sugar  from  each  factory,  3,323  tons. 

Russia     Number  of    factories  273  ;    beets    worked  4,818,869  tons  ;    per 
cent,  of  raw  sugar  in  beets  15.71  ;   average  output  of  sugar  for 
each  factory,  2,565  tons. 

12 


From  these  figures  the  observant  reader  may  form  some  conclusions 
as  to  what  the  industry  might  amount  to  in  the  United  States,  if  estab- 
lished on  a  scale  to  produce  all  the  sugar  required  for  home  consumption. 
Perhaps  the  best  demonstration  of  the  importance  of  the  beet  sugar  in- 
dustry is  presented  by  the  fact  that  after  its  few  decades  of  existence  in 
Germany  and  comparatively  small  sacrifices  by  the  government  and  pri- 
vate individuals,  it  is  now  able  to  pay  over  $32, 000,000  annually  in  taxes 
to  the  state.  Large  as  this  sum  may  appear  it  is  nothing  compared  with 
the  wealth  the  industry  has  brought  to  the  nation. 

HISTORY  It  seems  rather  remarkable  that  with  the  example  set 
IN  THE  before  our  eyes  by  Europe,  and  its  experience,  covering 
IJNTTFD  *n^  ^a^  a  centur>r>  at  our  command,  the  early  career  of 
__,  ___^  the  beet  sugar  industry  in  our  country  should  have  been 
marked  by  a  succession  of  failures. 

The  first  efforts  at  sugar  beet  growing  in  this  country  were  made  in 
the  year  1830  by  two  Philadelphians.  Eight  years  later,  in  1838,  Dav. 
L.  Child  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  experimented  with  beet  raising  and 
the  manufacture  of  sugar.  His  method  consisted  in  drying  the  roots  and 
then  extracting  the  sugar  therefrom.  It  was  not  a  brilliant  success,  and 
about  1,300  pounds  were  made  in  this  way.  There  was  then  an  interim 
of  active  interest  till  1863,  when  two  German  brothers  by  the  name  of 
Gennert  began  the  manufacture  of  sugar  at  Chatsworth,  111.,  (100  miles 
south  of  Chicago).  This  undertaking  collapsed  after  six  years,  owing 
to  unfavorable  local  conditions,  mainly  lack  of  water. 

The  plant  was  then  removed  to  Freeport,  111.,  where  it  was  likewise 
unsuccessful.  In  1870  the  brothers  located  at  Blackhawk,  Wis.,  but 
shortly  afterwards  sunk  from  sight. 

Thus  the  industry  during  the  first  forty  years  of  its  history  in  the 
United  States  proved  a  failure.  The  first  successful  undertaking  was 
that  by  Bonestell  &  Otto,  two  Germans  who  organized  a  company  with  a 
capital  of  $12,000,  which  operated  for  two  years  a  small  factory  at  Fond 
Du  Lac,  Wis.  These  works  were  then  abandoned,  Bonestell  &  Gtto 
accepting  an  offer  from  the  Alvarado  Sugar  Company,  Alvarado,  Califor- 
nia, where  they  continued  to  operate  until  1873.  Subsequently  Mr.  Otto 
went  to  Santa  Cruz  county,  where  he  operated  a  factory  until  1876.  The 
Alvarado  factory  failed  in  that  year,  but  was  reorganized  in  1879,  and  has 
been  in  succesfsul  operation  ever  since.  The  success  of  this  factory  and 
of  six  others,  established  up  to  1896,  (of  which  three  were  situated  in 
the  State  of  California,  two  in  Nebraska,  one  in  New  Mexico),  demon- 
strated beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt,  that  beet  culture  and  the  manu- 
facture of  sugar  from  beets  could  be  carried  on  successfully  in  the  United 
States. 

Why  neither  private  capital  up  to  this  time  worked  this  great  indus- 
trial domain  properly,  nor  the  government  did  consider  it  necessary  prior 

13 


u 


to  the  enactment  of  the  Dingley  law,  July,  1897,  to  protect  and  foster 
this  industry,  is  a  question  of  a  delicate  nature,  a  discussion  of  which 
would  transgress  the  scope  and  tendency  of  these  pages. 

Suffice  it  to  say,  that  up  to  1890  nearly  nothing  was  done  in  the 
United  States,  and  in  the  seven  years  following  there  were  erected  in  this 
great  country  but  seven  factories,  with  a  maximum  annual  output  of 
about  40,000  tons.  The  following  table  shows  the  increase  in  production 
from  year  to  year  : 

Production  of  Beet  Sugar  in  the  United  States  from  J830  to  J896. 

(From  the  Weekly  Statistical  Sugar  Trade  Journal.) 

1830,  a  few  hundred  pounds.  1884 953  tons. 

1831-37,  none.  1885 600  tons. 

1838-39 1,300  pounds.  1886 800  tons. 

1839-62,  none.  1887 255  tons. 

1863-71,  300  to  500  tons  per  annum.  1888 1,010  tons. 

1872 500  tons.  1889 -. .  .   2,600  tons. 

1873 700  tons.  1890 2,800  tons. 

1874-77,  under  100  tons  per  annum.  1891 \ 6,359  tons. 

1878 200  tons.  1892 12,091  tons. 

1879 1,200  tons.  1893  20,453  tons. 

1880  SOOtons.  1894 20,443  tons. 

1881-82,  less  than  500  tons.  1895 30,000  tons. 

1883 535  tons.  1896 40,000  tons. 

All  the  signs  of  the  time  indicate  that  we  are  now  on  the  verge  of  a 
much  greater,  more  healthful  and  more  rapid  development.  It  is  indeed 
a  wonder  that  this  industry  has  not  attracted  greater  attention  heretofore, 
considering  the  far  reaching  consequences,  possibilities  and  opportunities 
which  it  involves  for  the  farmer,  sugar  manufacturer  and  the  many  trades 
that  would  directly  or  indirectly  benefit  by  its  growth.  Extensive  tests 
made  for  a  number  of  years  by  private  parties  and  by  our  government, 
in  various  parts  of  the  country,  have  demonstrated  clearly  and  beyond  a 
doubt,  that  the  sugar  beet  can  be  raised  successfully  in  nearly  all  the 
states  of  the  Union.  This  is  no  more  an  open  question.  But  further- 
more, it  has  been  demonstrated  that  we  can  and  do  raise  better  beets,  i. 
e.,  of  a  higher  percentage  of  sugar  and  greater  purity  than  can  be  raisid  in 
any  part  of  the  old  world. 

(In  a  report  made  by  the  United  States  Consul  Brittain  at  Nantes, 
made  to  the  Department  last  October,  the  average  percentage  of  sugar  in 
the  beet  in  various  countries  is  given  as  follows  :  France  11.95  ;  Belgium 
13.75;  Holland  13.80  ;  Germany  v  13.50  ;  Austria-Hungary  13.;  Russia 
12.40;  Sweden  13.;  Denmark  12.) 

Sugar  beet  culture  is  now  making  rapid  strides  in  this  country,  for 
we  have  finally  awakened  to  the  fact  that  it  is  sure  to  promote  our 
agricultural,  manufacturing  and  entire  economic  interests  in  a  degree  as 
no  other  product  will.  It  is  of  equal  interest  to  the  fanner  as  to  the 

15 


manufacturer  and  capitalist.  It  means  employment  to  idle  capital  and 
labor.  With  its  advent  and  progress  we  are  bound  to  witness  an  increase 
in  agricultural  wealth  beyond  expectation.  It  will  enhance  the  value  of 
farm  lands,  not  only  by  reason  of  its  yielding  more  profits  than  any  other 
plant,  but  also  on  account  of  the  benefit  accruing  to  the  other  crops,  by 
superior  cultivation  and  improved  rotation.  It  will  enable  the  farmer  to 
diversify  his  crops,  and  enable  the  sugar  manufacturer  to  buy  his  raw 
material  in  the  home  market,  instead  of  sending  over  one  hundred  millions 
of  dollars  for  it  every  year  to  foreign  countries.  We  have  the  soil  and 
the  climate  ;  we  have  intelligent  farmers  and  we  have  intelligent  me- 
chanics, and  the  one  thing  that  has  hitherto  stood  in  the  way  of  a  more 


DETROIT   SUGAR    COMPANY'S   FACTORY,    ROCHESTER,    MICHIGAN. 
REAR  VIEW. 


rapid  development  of  the  sugar  beet  raising  and  beet  sugar  industry  was 
the  fact  that  capital  had  not  become  sufficiently  interested  in  it.  The 
farmer  is  simply  waiting  for  the  capitalists  to  say  the  word,  to  plant  a 
portion  of  his  fields  in  well  paying  beets,  instead  of  having  to  use  them  in 
planting  loiv  priced  wheat  and  corn.  It  is,  for  instance,  a  well  known 
fact  that  in  what  is  known  as  the  large  corn  belt  of  this  country,  the 
farmers  received  for  their  crops  1895-96  during  several  months  only  8  to 
12  cents  per  bushel.  This  low  priced  product  was  exported,  while  the 

16 


farmers  might  have  planted  a  portion  of  their  fields  in  high  priced  beets 
for  domestic  consumption.  Of  corn  there  was  harvested,  taking  the 
average  of  the  last  decade,  in  the  principal  corn  growing  States  from  50 
to  70  bushels  to  the  acre,  'ftie  farmer  received  therefore  on  an  average 
of  60  bushels  to  the  acre  at  10  cents,  say  $6.00  per  acre  all  told,  and  from 
this  amount  he  had  to  pay  his  expenses  for  plowing,  seeding,  cultivating 
and  harvesting,  his  rent  or  interest  on  mortgages,  taxes,  living  expenses, 
implements,  etc.  For  beets  the  farmer  receives  $4.00  per  ton  on  an  ave- 
rage ;  in  Nebraska  $40  to  $50  per  acre,  and  in  California  $60  to  $70  in 
the  aggregate  ;  naturally  of  these  two  amounts  must  be  deducted  the 
extra  cost  in  the  production,  cultivation,  harvesting  and  freight,  which 
expense  will  amount  to  from  $25  to  $30,  according  to  quantity  raised  and 
the  distance  to  the  sugar  factory.  Supposing  the  farmer  does  receive — 
as  the  result  of  failure  of  crops  abroad — as  high  as  25  cents  per  bushel, 
even  then  the  normal  yield  of  the  beet  fields  would  bring  him  in  two  or 
three  times  as  much  as  his  corn  would  bring  him. 

According  to  the  latest  statistical  estimates,  the  population  of  the 
United  States  represents  4  to  4^  per  cent,  of  the  entire  population  of  the 
earth,  viz:  74  of  the  175  millions  inhabiting  the  globe,  while  we  con- 
sume 28  per  cent,  of  the  7^  million  tons  of  the  world's  sugar  product  ion. 
(The  Statistical  Abstract  published  by  the  Treasury  Department  gives 
the  population  of  the  United  States  June  ist,  1898,  74,389,000.)  Although 
the  greatest  sugar  consuming  nation  in  the  world,  excepting  England, 
we  are  paying  a  tribute  of  over  100,000,000  dollars  annually  to  foreign 
countries,  while  we  could  and  should  produce  all  the  sugar  we  consume. 
While  four  European  countries,  Germany,  Austria,  France  and  Russia 
boast  of  over  1,400  beet  sugar  factories,  up  to  last  season  we  had  only  a 
baker's  dozen.  We  consume  now  340,000  tons.  (Beets  40,000.)  Sup- 
pose now  we  produced  all  our  own  sugar,  this  would  mean  a  production 
of  25,000,000  tons  of  sugar  beets,  giving  the  farmer  a  return  of  at  least 
one  hundred  million  dollars,  and  employing  3,300,000  acres  of  farm  land 
and  about  400,000  farm  hands,  besides  an  army  of  men  employed  in  fac- 
tories, machine  shops,  etc.  And  on  the  basis  of  our  growing  population, 
what  will  be  the  figures  ten  or  twenty  years  hence  ? 

By  throwing  a  short  glance  at  the  per  capita  increase  in  sugar  con- 
sumption in  this  country,  we  can  easily  arrive  at  reliable  deductions.  In 
1830  the  United  States  consumed  approximately  20  Ibs.  per  capita  ;  in 
1840,  25  Ibs.;  in  1850,  30  Ibs. ;  in  1860,  35  Ibs. ;  in  1870,  40  Ibs. ;  in  1880, 
45  Ibs.;  in  1890,  53  Ibs.,  and  in  1895,  63  Ibs. 

The  per  capita  consumption  in  various  other  countries  is  given  by 
the  Sugar  Trade  Journal,  as  follows  : 


17 


Per  Capita  Consumption  of  Sugar — United  States  and  Europe. 

(From  the  Weekly  Statistical  Sugar  Trade  Journal.) 


COUNTRIES. 

POPULATION 

1895 

PER  CAPITA  CONSUMPTION. 

1894-95 
Lbs. 

1893-94 

Lhs. 

1892-93 
Lbs. 

1891-92 
Lbs. 

Germany 

51,650,000 
43,456,000 
38,800,000 
100,239,000 
4,732,000 
6,325,000 
2,300,000 
6,873,000 
30,724,000 
5,800,000 
17,650,000 
5,082,000 
38,927,000 
3,310.000 
2,235,000 
2,256,000 
21.983,000 
2,895,000 

26.78 
19.81 
30.61 
10.94 
31.30 
22.50 
45.51 
24  95 
6.65 
4.03 
13.68 
12.92 
86.09 
8.88 
6.26 
4.01 
7.65 
44.66 

26.71 
16.57 
27.80 
11.06 
25.55 
21.73 
42.96 
24.82 
7.07 
4  07 
12.47 
13.09 
84.78 
7.14 
7.29 
4.25 
7.25 
43.20 

22.90 
17  20 
27.86 
10.94 
22.90 
21.09 
43.53 
23.64 
7.00 
4.53 
12.38 
12.51 
77.40 
6  07 
7.38 
4.22 
7.64 
31.62 

23.56 
16  05 
30.46 
10.34 
26.88 
21.29 
43.63 
24.14 
7.18 
3.90 
11.06 
12.43 
80.73 
5.16 
8.62 
3.81 
9.30 
31  30 

Austria     

France     

Russia 

Holland  

Belgium  
Denmark      
Sweden  and  Norway  . 
Italy    . 

Roumania 

Spain  . 

Portugal  and  Madeira    . 
Kngland  . 

Bulgaria  .     . 

Greece      

Servia       
Turkey 

Switzerland  . 

Europe    , 

385,177,000 
69,753,000 

25.  64 

62.60 

23.25 

66.64 

22.02 
63  83 

22.64 
63.76 

United  States    .... 
Total    .... 

454,930,000 

31.07 

29.33 

28.20 

29.00 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  England  is  still  at  the  head  as 
sugar  consumer,  bnt  it  is  surely  only  a  question  of  a  short  time,  when 
our  sugar  consumption  will  be  as  great  and  larger  than  England's;  for  the 
simple  reason,  that  our  population  is  increasing  much  more  rapidly  than 
that  of  England.  Thus  in  the  five  years  from  1890-95,  the  population  of 
England  has  increased  less  than  one  million,  while  our  population  has 
increased  nearly  eight  million.  On  the  basis  of  the  same  ratio  in  increase, 
the  sugar  consumption  in  the  United  States  ought  to  reach  the  figure  of 
5,000,000  tons  before  many  years  have  passed.  This  would  mean  that 
our  farmers  would  have  to  produce  annually  at  least  55,000,000  tons  of 
sugar  beets,  giving  them  at  a  low  calculation,  a  return  of  say  222,000,000 
dollars.  It  would  employ  at  least  5,500,000  acres  of  the  best  farming 
land  and  over  half  million  men  in  the  field.  It  would  provide  work  for 
a  vast  army  of  skilled  workingmen  and  ordinary  laborers  in  the  sugar 
factories  and  in  the  machine  shops  and  foundries,  where  the  machinery 
is  built  for  the  sugar  houses.  It  would  give  work  to  the  builder,  stone- 
mason, bricklayer,  carpenter,  roofer,  blacksmith  and  tinsmith,  the  bell- 
hanger  and  locksmith,  the  gasfitter,  the  cooper  and  boxmaker,  the  rope- 
maker,  the  saddler  and  the  wheelwright.  The  transportation  companies 

18 


would  have  tens  of  thousands  more  carloads  to  haul  to  and  from  factories 
and  another  army  of  men  would  be  employed  in  coal  mines,  lime  stone 
quarries,  chemical  and  other  factories.  In  fact  there  is  hardly  a  branch 
of  trade,  that  would  not  be  benefitted  directly  or  indirectly  by  this  in- 
dustry, which  would  represent  modestly  estimated  an  investment  of 
about  $550,000,000  in  sugar  factories  alone,  using  at  least  6,600,000  tons 
of  coal,  4,400,000  tons  of  lime  stone,  500,000  tons  of  coke,  besides  a  vast 
quantity  of  chemicals  and  other  material. 

It  is  therefore  no  longer  a  question  whether  the  sugar  beet  industry 


A  GUMPSE  INTO  THE   INTERIOR  OF  THE    ROCHESTER  SUGAR   HOUSE 
— NORTH    END. 

will  thrive  in   the  United  States,   and  whether  it  will  offer  a  safe  and 
profitable  investment  for  capital. 

The  brilliant  results  obtained  by  the  beet  sugar  factories  now  in 
operation  and  the  favorable  outturn  of  the  beet  culture  experiments  in 
the  majority  of  our  states,  (and  in  this  connection  the  fact  is  to  be  remem- 
bered, that  beet  production  increases  steadily  in  quantity  and  quality 
under  rational  and  systematic  culture),  makes  it  a  safe  prediction,  that 
beet  culture  and  the  beet  sugar  industry  in  the  United  States,  will 
assume  enormous  proportions  within  the  next  decade.  We  believe  that 

19 


the  time  is  not  far  distant,  when  every  pound  of  sugar  consumed  in  the 
United  States  will  be  grown  and  manufactured  in  our  own  country  and 
when  instead  of  being  the  largest  importers  of  sugar  we  shall  become  an 
exporter  of  this  paying  staple.  We  believe  it  to  be  a  fact  that  every  man 
who  takes  an  interest  in  the  economic  questions  of  the  day,  be  he  farmer, 
manufacturer,  capitalist  or  statesman,  has  been  thoroughly  aroused  to 
the  importance  of  the  subject  and  thus  we  find  it  agitated  by  our  agricul- 
tural and  trade  journals,  the  daily  press,  state  boards  of  trade,  farmers 
and  manufacturers  associations,  government  and  railroad  officials,  capita- 


A  GLIMPSE  INTO  THE   INTERIOR    OF  THE  ROCHESTER   SUGAR   HOUSE 
— SOUTH   END 

lists  and  every  thinking  man.  It  has  become  a  burning  public  question. 
Outside  of  private  parties,  the  agricultural  experiment  stations  all  over 
the  country  are  experimenting  on  a  large  scale  in  analyzing  soils  and  in 
planting  and  testing  sugar  beets.  The  department  of  agriculture  has 
sent  out  tons  of  literature  concerning  beet  growing,  distributed  thousands 
of  tons  of  seed  free  to  farmers  and  is  doing  everything  in  its  power  to 
foster  interest  in  the  industry.  The  ultimate  result  certainly  cannot  be 
doubtful.  The  unnatural  hesitancy  of  capital  to  work  this  great  and 
promising  industrial  domain  properly,  (it  is  probably  the  only  industry 
of  this  kind  at  present  in  the  United  States  paying  in  a  bona  fide  way 

20 


25  per  cent,  and  more  net  profit  on  capital  invested),  seems  to  be  gradu- 
ally disappearing.  Proof  thereof  we  find  in  the  rapidly  increasing  beet 
acreage,  the  erection  of  new  and  the  enlargement  of  the  already  existing 
beet  sugar  factories,  and  the  abundance  of  sugar  projects  in  many  states 
of  the  union. 

The  capitalist  and  moneyed  corporations,  looking  for  a  safe  and 
profitable  investment  for  their  means,  can  certainly  do  no  better  than  to 
engage  in  this  new  industry.  It  is  the  coming  investment.  To  supply 
the  present  sugar  demand  we  would  require  about  900  more  factories  of  a 
daily  capacity  of  350  tons  each,  and  each  representing  an  investment  of 
say  at  least  $350,000.  This  may  give  an  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
future  of  this  industry.  We  furthermore  think,  that  what  it  has  taken 
the  Old  World  a  century  to  acomplish,  will  be  accomplished  here  within 
the  next  decade  or  two,  and  that  we  shall  witness  in  this  new  industry  a 
wonderful  industrial  power,  which  will  increase  the  welfare  and  prosper- 
ity of  our  agricultural  and  manufacturing  population,  give  honest  employ- 
ment to  thousands  of  people  and  treble  and  quadruple  the  value  of  our 
farm  lands  and  increase  the  wealth  of  the  nation  at  large. 

The  industry,  as  far  as  the  supply  of  acreage  is  concerned,  is  firmly 
established.  The  farmers  were  slow  to  get  started  in  the  beet  industry 
but  they  soon  found  that  the  profits  from  raising  beets  were  so  much  more 
than  those  received  from  growing  grain  or  fruit,  that  farmers  who  once  have 
gone  into  beet  culture  and  are  supplying  the  factories  now  in  existence  usually 
want  to  double  and  treble  their  acreage,  and  there  is  a  legion  of  farmers  all 
over  the  United  States  anxious  to  plant  beets.  The  question  is  now,  how 
can  such  a  prospective  crop  be  handled?  There  is  but  one  answer  and 
that  is:  More  factories. 

To  interest  capital  and  hasten  the  erection  of  more  factories  the 
farmers  can  do  much  in  the  way  of  showing  the  adaptibility  of  their  soil 
and  climate  for  the  production  of  a  high  quality  beet. 


21 


Part  II. 


THE  CULTURE  OF  THE  SUGAR  BEET. 


GENERAL  The  late  U.  S.  Senator  Leland  Stanford,  one  of  the  most 
REMARKS  enthusiastic  supporters  of  the  beet  sugar  industry  in  its 
early  stages  in  California,  prophesied  years  ago,  that  the 
present  generation  would  see  the  homely  old  beet  become  a  king  of  the 
agricultural  domain,  as  potent  as  corn  or  cotton  ever  was.  "'The  sugar 
beet  is  the  hope  of  American  agriculture"  he  once  wrote  and  never  a  truer 
word  was  spoken.  Whether  his  prophesy  shall  become  true  rests  with  the 
American  farmer  and  we  think  he  may  be  depended  upon  in  this  respect. 
There  is  no  branch  of  agriculture  at  the  present  day  receiving  so  much 
attention  from  agricultural  economists  and  progressive  farmers  in  the 
United  States  as  that  of  sugar  beet  growing.  This  is  but  natural  when 
we  consider  that  the  consumption  of  sugar  is  rapidly  increasing  in  this 
country  and  that  during  the  last  five  years  it  has  taken  three  fourths  and 
more  of  the  money  received  from  exported  wheat  and  flour  to  pay  for  the 
sugar  imported  during  the  same  period.  The  sharp  competition  from 

countries  having  cheap  lands  and  cheap 
labor  has  so  reduced  the  price  of  wheat 
and  other  farm  products,  as  to  make  it 
necessary  to  replace  grain  growing  to  a 
considerable  extent  by  a  more  intense 
system  of  farming  such  as  growing  sugar 
beets  for  the  production  of  sugar. 

Before  entering  into  detail  on  the 
subject  of  beet  culture,  we  must  discuss 
what  constitutes  a  good  beet  for  sugar 
making  purposes. 

The  beet  —  Beta  vulgaris  —  is  a  plant 
of  the  order  of  the  chenspodiaceae  — 
goosefoot  family  —  and  has  been  known 
for  centuries.  The  plant  was  found 
growing  wild  in  Egypt  and  along  the 
shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  was 
cultivated  long  before  the  Christian  Era. 
Many  varieties  were  known  to  the  an- 
cients,  of  varying  degree  in  color  and 
quality.  Other  well  known  esculent 


7 


VILMORIN.     LE  PLUS  RicHE. 


Fig.  2. 
KI.EIN  WANZLEBENER. 


plants  belong  to  the  family  as  well  as  our  common  weeds.     There  are 

some  40  varieties  of  it 
in  the  United  States. 
There  are  three  well 
marked  classes  of  beets, 
viz :  those  needed  for 
human  food  ;  2,  those 
used  for  stock  feeding, 
and,  3,  those  used  for 
sugar  making.  The  red 
and  yellowish  varieties 
grown  in  our  gardens 
and  fields  are  types  of 
the  first  class ;  the  many 
varieties  of  Mangelwur- 
zel  or  stock  beets,  illus- 
trate the  second  class, 
while  the  white  Klein - 
wanzlebener  and  Vilmo- 
rin  (Figs.  2  and  3)  are 
representatives  of  the 
third  class. 

The  real  sugar  beet  is  white  in  color  a  slim  cone  with  a  single  tap 
root  covered  with  fine 
hairlike  rootlets.  Ori- 
ginally the  sugar  beet 
was  identical  with  the 
ordinary  field  or  garden 
beet,  but  by  careful  cul- 
tivation and  selection  of 
seed  the  sugar  beet  has 
been  raised  from  its  for- 
mer condition  until  it 
now  contains  from  15  to 
1 8  per  cent,  of  sugar. 
In  the  development  of 
the  sugar  beet  the  differ- 
ent types  have  been  built 
up  in  the  same  general 
way  by  breeding  and  se- 
lection, as  have  the  dif- 
ferent breeds  of  cattle. 

The   varieties  of   beets  ~ 

best  known   here,   out- 
side those  already  men-  VILMORIN. 
tioned  are  the  Simon  Legrande,  Desprez,  Florimond  Desprez. 

23 


STRUCTURE 
OF  THE 
BEET 


which  is  filled  with 
of  several  bodies  other  than  sugar. 
A  cross  section  of  the  beet  is  shown 
in  Fig.  4.  These  bodies  contain  a 
number  of  crystalloid  salts,  such  as 
phosphates  malates,  adalates  of  cal- 
cium and  potassium,  the  salts  of  the 
latter  being  by  far  the  most  prominent. 
The  juice  also  contains  a  large  num- 
ber of  undesirable  substances  (colloid 
bodies)  such  as  albuminous  and  pecti- 
nous  compounds. 


Internally  the  beet  root  is  built  up  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  concentric  rings  formed  of  a  much  larger 
number  of  small 
cells,  each  of 
a  watery  solution 


Fig.  4. 

CROSS-SECTION  OF  A  SUGAR   BEET. 


SIZE  OF  It  ^  well  known  that  small  beets  are  richer  in  sugar  than 
BEETS  large  ones.  In  order  to  get  satisfactory  returns  in  sugar 
contents,  it  is  therefore  necessary  in  raising  sugar  beets  to 
keep  the  size  down  by  close  planting.  On  the  other  hand  it  will  not  do 
to  grow  the  beets  too  small,  as  the  yield  would  be  affected  to  too  great  an 
extent.  The  typical  size  is  considered  to  be  about  a  pound  and  a  half  to 
two  pounds. 

Brien  in  the  "Journal  des  Fabricantes  de  Sucre,"  Oct.  23,  1878,  says: 
' '  The  size  of  the  beet  is  the  inverse  ratio  of  its  sugars  and  salts  ;  the  con- 
tent of  water  increases  with  the  size  and  the  weight  of  the  beet." 

The  following  is  from  a  report  by  Commercial  Agent  Hawes,  of 
Reichenberg,  Austria- Hungary  : 

' '  The  conditions  required  of  a  good  sugar  beet  are  : 

"  i.  Regular  shape  (cone  pear  or  olive  shape).  Many  side  roots  or 
prongs  are  disadvantageous  because  they  make  cleaning  more  difficult, 
and  increase  the  waste.  The  leaves  should  be  thick  and  should  be  of  the 
characteristic  shape  and  color,  and  those  which  lie  flat  are  to  be  preferred 
as  protecting  the  beet  against  frost. 

"2.  Medium  size,  say  one  to  two  pounds.  Small  beets  make  a 
small  crop,  while  large  beets  contain  comparatively  little  sugar.  The 
length  should  not  be  more  than  35  centimeters  (14  inches). 

"3.    Rich  in  sugar  from  9  to  26  per  cent. 

"4.  A  white,  compact,  brittle  substance.  Such  beets  are  more  re- 
sistant to  destruction  by  storage.  A  small  head  not  protruding  from  the 
ground,  as  this  head  must  be  cut  off,  containing  as  it  does  very  little 
sugar. 

"  It  is  very  important  to  select  the  proper  variety  for  a  given  district, 

24 


because  the  different  economical  conditions  of  climate  and  soil  require 
different  varieties,  if  the  largest  possible  crop  is  to  be  harvested.  It  is 
therefore  quite  necessary  for  every  farmer  to  experiment  with  different 
varieties. ' ' 

It  is  important  not  only 
that  a  sugar  beet  should  be 
of  the  proper  shape  and 
size,  but  also  that  it  should 
be  grown  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  secure  the  protection 
of  the  soil  for  all  of  its  parts 
except  the  neck  and  foliage. 
The  proper  position  for  a 
beet  to  occupy  in  the  soil  at 
the  end  of  growth  is  shown 
in  Fig  5.  This  position  can 
only  be  secured  for  the  beet 
by  growing  it  in  a  soil  suffi- 
ciently pervious  to  permit 
of  the  penetration  of  the  tap 
root  to  a  great  depth.  It 
is  for  this  reason  that  sub- 
soiling  in  the  preparation 
of  a  field  for  the  growth  of 
sugar  beets  is  of  such  im- 

POSITION  OF  BEET  IN  THE  SOIL.  Tr  . ,       ,         ,  .       ... 

portance.     If  the  beet  in  its 

growth  should  meet  a  practically  impervious  soil  at  the  depth  of  8  or  10 
inches,  the  tap  root  will  be  deflected  from  its  natural  course,  lateral  roots 
will  be  developed,  the  beet  will  become  disfigured  and  disturbed  in  shape 
and  the  upper  portion  of  it  will  be  pushed  out  of  the  ground,  as  shown  in 
Figs.  6  and  7.  Experience  has  shown  that  the  content  of  sugar  in  those 
portions  of  a  beet  which  are  pushed  above  the  soil  is  very  greatly  dimin- 
ished. 


5- 


SOIL  AND  The  sugar  beet  thrives  in  a  variety  of  soils,  but 

CLIMATIC  kest  in  rich  well  cultivated  and  well  manured  soil. 

CONDITIONS      Calciferous  or  clay  sandy  soils  are  equally  suitable 

for  it.     A  permeable  subsoil  is  needed  and  wherever 

this  does  not  exist  a  well  arranged  drainage  system  must  be  resorted  to. 
A  sandy  loam  has  twofold  advantages  for  sugar  beets ;  firstly,  as  it  per- 
mits the  beet  root  to  penetrate  deep  into  the  soil,  and  secondly,  because 
beets  that  are  grown  in  such  soil  are  easily  harvested  without  great  loss 
by  what  is  called  ' '  tare' ' ;  in  other  words  the  beet  comes  comparatively 
clean  out  of  the  ground,  whereas  beets  grown  in  clay  soil  are  very  hard 

25 


to  get  out  of  the  ground,  involving  an  extra  expense  to  the  farmer,  by 
reason  of  the  adherence  of  this  soil  to  the  beet  and  upon  which  the  farmer 
pays  freight.  On  no  account  should  poor  land  be  selected  for  beet  cul- 
ture, or  land  that  is  not  well  drained,  for  although  the  beet  requires  an 
abundance  of  moisture,  yet  it  does  not  thrive  in  wet  soils. 

Sufficient  sub-moisture  is  necessary  to  enable  the  beet  to  mature. 
While  in  the  first  stages  of  development  the  plant  exhausts  all  the  surface 
water  of  the  land,  aided  by  the  natural  evaporation  caused  by  the  sun's 
rays,  and  as  the  surface  grows  dry,  the  thin  tap  root  of  the  plant  works 
down  to  the  subsoil,  where  it  must  find  sufficient  moisture  to  fully  mature 
the  root. 

If  the  land  intended  for  beet  growing  has  never  been  cultivated  be- 
fore it  must  be  thoroughly  exposed  to  air  and  light,  otherwise  the  crop 
would  prove  a  failure.  On  basis  of  scientific  researches  it  is  claimed  that 
the  production  of  sugar  in  the  beet  is  the  effect  of  light  rather  than  heat, 
and  that  the  main  development  takes  place  after  root  growth  is  at  rest, 
and  that  progress  is  made  more  .rapidly  under  normal  heat  and  light  con- 
ditions, where  there  is  a  maximum  of  soil  moisture  and  a  minimum  of 
air  moisture. 

As  regards  soil  composition  the  requirements  are  :  Phosphoric  acid, 
which  increases  the  sugar  in  the  beet ;  magnesia,   lime,   potash  or  soda 
and  nitrogen.     Of  the  latter  little  is  required  and  a 
larger  quantity  would  be  rather  injurious  to  sugar 
production. 

As  regards  climate  the  sugar  beet  is  not  over 
particular.  Like  all  biennial  plants  it  can  stand  heat 
and  cold  ;  abnormal  heat  however,  as  well  as  abnor- 
mal cold,  check  its  development  and  tend  to  make 
the  plant  run  into  seed  the  first  year.  A  summer 
temperature  of  not  too  low  a  degree  is  required. 
The  experience  of  those  countries  where  the  beet  is 
most  successfully  grown  shows,  that  the  beet  thrives 
best  where  an  average  temperature  of  about  70°  F. 
for  the  three  summer  months — June,  July  and  Au- 
gust— is  found.  In  considering  the  availability  of 
a  certain  location  for  beet  raising,  it  is  customary  to 
draw  a  line  connecting  all  points  having  this  aver- 
age temperature  70°  F.  This  line  is  called  the 
isotherm  of  70  degrees.  Lines  are  drawn  parallel 
to  this  line,  at  a  distance  of  100  miles  either  side, 
and  the  belt  of  land  included  between  these  lines  is 
considered  to  be  the  portion  of  the  land  where  the 
beet  is  most  likely  to  be  successfully  grown.  The 
special  report  lately  published  by  the  United  States 
Agricultural  Department,  gives  a  very  exhaustive 
26 


Fig.  6. 

IMPROPERLY  RAISED 
BEET. 


and  comprehensive  explanation  un- 
der the  heading  of  "Climatology," 
the  study  of  which  we  would  recom- 
mend to  the  reader.  This  publication 
also  gives  a  new  map  of  the  sugar  belt 
with  triple  isothermal  lines,  from  which 
the  intelligent  farmer  can  draw  his 
own  conclusions,  by  way  of  comparison 
with  local  climatic  and  atmospheric 
conditions. 

Of  the  other  climatic  conditions 
which  have  an  important  bearing  on 
sugar  beet  production,  the  rainfall 
during  the  crop  season  is  of  great  im- 
portance. In  order  to  produce  a  sat- 
isfactory crop  both  as  regards  quanti- 
ty and  quality,  the  sugar  beet  requires 
a  certain  amount  of  moisture.  There 
should  be  an  annual  rainfall  of  at  least 
25  inches,  and  30  inches  would  not 
be  an  excessive  amount ;  this  rainfall 
should  not  be  less  than  two  inches  nor 
more  than  four  inches  per  month. 
The  amount  of  water  required  to  ma- 
ture a  crop  of  sugar  beets  depends 
largely  on  the  nature  of  the  soil  and 
the  cultivation  which  the  crop  receives. 
Where  the  moisture  is  not  derived 
from  rainfall  in  the  usual  way  it  must 
be  supplied  by  irrigation.  If  the  soil 
is  well  supplied  with  water  during  the 
spring,  thereby  giving  the  crop  a  fair 
start,  it  will  be  able  to  mature  even 
during  a  very  dry  season.  A  dry  fall 
is  the  most  favorable  for  proper  ripen- 
ing of  the  crop.  Experience  has 
proven  that  dry  sunny  weather  during 
the  fall  is  necessary  for  the  perfection 
of  the  chemical  changes  wrought  in 
the  beet  tissue  and  juice,  whereby  the 
sugar  is  produced. 


IMPROPERLY  RAISED  BEET. 


27 


AREA  TO  BE  ALLOTTED  The  experience  in  most  of  the  Ger- 
TO  BEET  CULTURE.  man  anc^  otner  European  beet  rais- 

ROTATIVE  SYSTEM  *n^  Districts,  ^as  demonstrated  the 

fact  that  the  sugar  beet  may  be 

grown  on  any  one  piece  of  ground  adapted  for  its  culture,  every  three 
years  under  a  rational  rotative  system.  By  a  rational  rotative  system  is 
meant  an  alternating  change  of  crop,  by  which  a  certain  preceding  crop 
prepares  the  ground  for  a  certain  following  crop  ;  in  other  words  the 
change  of  crop  must  not  be  made  arbitrarily,  but  in  regular  rotation, 
deeprooted  plants  interchanging  with  shortrooted  ones,  cereals  with  leafed 
plants,  and  arranged  in  such  a  manner  that  the  cereals,  grasses  and  veg- 
tables  recuperate  the  soil  and  provide  it  with  food  necessary  for  the  growth 
of  the  beet.  In  some  localities  of  Europe  beets  are  raised  on  the  same 
piece  of  ground  two  or  even  more  years  in  succession,  but  such  culture  is 
attended  with  risks  and  drawbacks.  The  farmer  who  wishes  to  remain 
on  the  safe  side  will  not  devote  more  than  one-fifth  to  one-third  of  the 
acreage  under  cultivation  to  the  beet,  although  many  beet  raising  Euro- 
pean countries,  especially  in  Germany,  the  farmers  raise  beets  on  40  to  50 
per  cent  of  the  acreage  area.  In  soils  which  have  never  grown  beets 
before,  as  is  the  case  with  most  localities  in  this  country,  they  might  be 
raised  for  several  successive  years  without  danger  to  the  productiveness 
of  the  soil,  nevertheless  we  would  always  favor  a  rational  rotation. 

As  to  the  crops  to  be  grown  in  rotation,  the  practical  farmer  is  the 
best  judge  and  will  of  course  consider  local  conditions,  such  as  marketa- 
bility of  the  crops  to  be  raised,  etc. 

A  good  plan  of  rotation  which  we  understand  is  much  practised  by 
western  farmers  is  to  grow  first  corn,  then  some  small  grain,  say  wheat, 
oats  or  barley,  and  then  sugar  beets.  The  reason  for  starting  the  rota- 
tion with  corn  is,  that  the  removal  of  the  butts,  which  would  be  necessary 
if  beets  were  grown  on  the  same  piece  of  land  the  second  year,  is  often 
expensive,  while  at  the  end  of  the  second  year  this  wrould  no  longer  be 
necessary.  In  this  connection  a  few  examples  of  crop  rotation,  such  as 
is  practiced  by  beet  growers  in  Germany,  may  be  of  interest  : 

A.  B.  C. 

1.  Winter  Cereals.  1.  Winter  Cereals.  1.  Winter  Cereals. 

2.  Sugar  Beets.  2.  Sugar  Beets.  2.  Sugar  Beets. 

3    Summer  Cereals.  3.  Summer  Cereals.  3.  Summer  Cereals. 

4.  Potatoes.  4.  Clover.  4.  Clover. 

5.  Summer  Cereals.  5.  Winter  Cereals.  5.  Pasture. 

6.  Sugar  Beets.  6.  Sugar  Beets.  6.  Winter  Cereals. 

7.  Summer  Cereals.  7.  Summer  Cereals.  7.  Sugar  Beets. 

8.  Clover.  8.  Potatoes.  8.  Beans,  Peas,  etc. 

9.  Winter  Cereals.  9.  Beans.  Peas,  etc. 
10.  Oats. 

One-fifth  Sugar  Beets.  Two-ninths  Sugar  Beets.         One-fourth  Sugar  Beets. 

One- half  Cereals.  Four-ninths  Cereals.  Three-eighths  Cereals. 

With  heavy  manuring. 

28 


In  the  beet  sugar  districts  of  France  a  more  simple  rotation  is  gene- 
rally practised  by  the  farmers,  for  instance  : 

1.  Sugar  Beets.  1.  Sugar  Beets.  1.  Sugar  Beets. 

2.  Wheat.  2.  Beans,  Peas,  etc.  2.  Wheat. 

3.  Oats.  3.  Wheat.  3.  Potatoes. 

The  plan  mostly  adopted  by  the  German  beet  growers  is  the  socalled 
four  field  plan.     From  this  as  from  every  other  plan,  bottom  lands,  moory 


FARMERS   UNLOADING   BEETS  INTO  THE   BEET  SHEDS   OF  THE   MICHIGAN 
SUGAR   CO'S  FACTORY   AT  BAY  CITY. 

or  clayey  soils,  not  being  adapted  for  beet  culture,  are  excluded  and  must 
be  used  for  other  purposes.  The  good  land  is  divided  into  four  sections, 
which  are  worked  on  a  four  year  turn  of  rotation,  as  follows  : 

1.  Winter  crops  with  20  tons  stable  manure  per  acre. 

2.  Sugar  beets  without  manure. 

3.  Summer  crop  with  12  tons  stable  manure  per  acre. 

4.  Clover  without  manure. 

29 


This  plan  of  rotation  is  maintained  once  and  for  all.  If  desirable  or 
convenient,  each  section  may  be  subdivided  into  two  fields,  so  that  two 
kinds  of  winter  cereals  and  two  kinds  of  leafed  plants  may  be  raised, 

The  principle  of  the  above  four-field  plan  is  to  rotate  cereals  or  shal- 
low growing  plants  with  leafed  or  deep  growing  plants,  and  experience 
has  proven  it  to  be  a  fact,  that  by  carefully  observing  the  rotation,  the 
yield  of  the  cereal  crop  is  largely  increased,  owing  in  the  first  place  to 
the  more  careful  and  intense  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  secondly  to  the 
more  extended  use  of  stable  manure  and  fertilizers. 

Beets  should  always  follow  the  cereal  crop,  because  the  latter  being 
harvested  early  leaves  the  ground  in  readiness  for  early  fall  plowing 
necessary  to  successful  beet  culture. 


FERTILIZATION  One  of  the  great  advantages  most  of  our  soils 

offer  to  the  intending  beet  grower  is  their  natu- 

ral fertility.  The  German  and  most  other  European  beet  growers  starts 
with  a  cost  of  from  $10  to  $15  per  acre  for  fertilizers,  while  our  farmer 
if  he  cultivates  his  land  properly,  will  not  have  to  figure  on  much  expense 
in  this  respect.  The  contention  however,  which  we  find  frequently  ex- 
pressed by  farmers  who  have  never  raised  any  sugar  beets  and  frequently 
even  those  who  have  raised  beets  for  a  season  or  more,  viz.,  that  just  as 
good  results  can  be  obtained  in  beet  raising  without  the  use  of  manure 
and  fertilizers  it  certainly  wrong  and  misleading.  As  already  stated  the 
sugar  beet  requires  a  rich  soil,  which  it  leaves  more  or  less  exhausted. 
This  soil  must  contain  nitrogenic  matter,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid, 
magnesia  and  lime,  which  constituents  to  some  extent  it  receives  from 
the  previous  crop,  but  to  insure  a  satisfactory  return,  both  as  regards 
quantity  and  quality,  the  soil  on  which  the  beet  is  grown  should  receive 
outside  of  the  stable  manure,  which  should  be  applied  latest  in  the  fall 
previous  to  the  planting  an  addition  of  fertilizers  containing  the  afore- 
mentioned properties.  It  is  even  preferable  to  give  the  stable  manure  to 
the  crop  preceding  the  beet  crop. 

As  stated  in  some  of  the  station  bulletins  the  above  mentioned  con- 
stituents are  contained  in  a  considerable  degree  in  the  leaves  and  crown 
of  the  beet  which,  when  left  in  a  field,  recuperate  the  soil  in  a  measure, 
the  percentage  however  is  not  sufficient  to  replace  the  amount  removed 
by  the  beet. 

In  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  52,  Dr.  Wiley  gives  the  quantities  of  the 
aforementioned  constituents  in  1000  pounds  of  beets  and  beet  leaves,  as 
follows  : 

CONSTITUEMTS.  ROOTS.  LEAVES. 

Potash.  3  3  pounds.  6.5  pounds. 

Phosphoric  Acid.  0.8  pounds.  1.3  pounds. 

Magnesia.  0.5  pounds.  3.0  pounds. 

Nitrogen.  1.6  pounds.  3.9  pounds. 

Total  ash.  7.1  pounds.  18.1  pounds. 

30 


These  figures  speak  for  themselves  and  show  the  wisdom  of  not  re- 
moving the  leaves  from  the  fields.  It  stands  to  reason  that  a  soil  to 
which  these  constituents  are  not  fully  restored  will  gradually  lose  its 
faculty  to  produce  crops  of  normal  quantity  and  quality.  A  good  soil 
can  only  be  kept  up  to  the  standard  by  restoring  to  it  all  the  crop  has 
removed,  and  a  poor  soil  naturally  requires  to  be  supplied  with  those  ele- 
ments in  which  it  is  deficient.  The  farmer  should  therefore  study  this 
question  carefully.  It  would  be  difficult,  not  to  say  impossible,  to  lay 
down  definite  rules.  The  amount  and  -nature  of  fertilizer  to  be  applied 
much  depend  of  course  on  the  richness  of  the  soil,  and  the  experienced 
farmer  is  the  best  judge  in  this  matter,  and  in  most  cases  the  question  can 
only  be  solved  satisfactorily  by  systematic  experiments. 


VACUUM    PAN    FLOOR — ROCHESTER    FACTORY. 

Sometimes  results  are  found  lacking  even  under  a  copious  use  of 
fertilizers,  which  then  is  not  due  to  iriefficiency  of  the  fertilizing  material, 
but  rather  to  defective  quality  of  the  soil,  when  an  amelioration  of  natu- 
ral, chemical  and  climatic  effects  is  more  needed  than  fertilizing.  Where 
this  is  impossible  a  thin  coat  of  manure  should  be  spread  evenly  over  the 
field  in  fall  and  plowed  under  as  soon  as  possible.  Poor  soils  may  be 
brought  up  to  the  required  standard  of  fertility  by  applying  the  fertilizer 
for  several  years  in  succession.  It  is  preferable  however,  to  do  this  grad- 
ually, instead  of  by  one  heavy  application,  which  would  be  apt  to  pro- 
duce overgrown  beets  of  impure  quality,  inferior  for  purposes  of  manu- 

31 


facture.  In  any  case  the  manure  must  be  well  rotted.  Under  no  circum- 
stances should  stable  or  barnyard  manure  be  applied  heavily  in  the  spring, 
as  this  would  have  a  tendency  of  producing  beets  of  rank  growth  with 
low  sugar  contents  and  low  purity.  Of  commercial  fertilizers,  nitrate  of 
potash,  nitrate  of  soda,  muriate  of  potash  and  sulphate  of  potash,  dis- 
solved phosphate  rock  and  lime,  are  in  their  nature  most  suitable  for  beet 
fields.  It  has  been  found  by  experience  that  these  fertilizers  act  much 
better  in  conjunction  than  when  used  separately.  The  following  propor- 
tions are  recommended  by  experienced  growers  : 

*/$  muriate  of  potash  and  ^  sulphate  of  potash. 

^  muriate  of  potash  and  YS  sulphate  of  potash  and  lime. 

y§  muriate  of  potash  and  ^3  sulphate  of  potash. 

y$  muriate  of  potash  and  ^3  sulphate  of  potash  and  lime. 

Sulphate  of  potash  and  lime. 

Nitrate  of  potash  and  lime. 


CULTIVATING      Plowing   of   the  beet   field  should  be  begun  as 

THE   SOIL,  early  as  possible  in  the  fall,  i.  e.,   as  soon  as  the 

PT  OXX/IMP  winter  crop  has  been  harvested,  and  the  field  left 

in  furrows,  so  as  to  expose  it  to  action  of  air  and 

light,  which  breaks  the  clods  and  produces  a  clear  light  soil  for  the  seed. 
Only  shallow  plowing  is  required  in  the  first  instance,  and  for  the  special 
purpose  to  prevent  weeds  from  going  to  seed.  This  done,  where  neces- 
sary, manure  should  be  spread  and  in  late  fall  plowing  the  subsoil  be 
plowed  to  the  depth  of  15  to  16  inches,  or  as  deep  as  the  subsoil  plow 
may  go.  However,  the  16  inches  or  rather  the  difference  between  the 
unplowed  soil  and  the  cultivated  soil  must  on  no  account  be  turned  up 
at  once. 

Supposing  for  instance  there  is  a  difference  of  ten  inches  between  the 
maximum. of  plowing,  as  is  customary  for  grain,  viz.,  five  inches,  and  the 
minimum  of  plowing  required  in  a  good  worked  beet  field,  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  turn  up  at  once  these  ten  inches  of  unplowed  soil,  /.  e.,  the 
ground  below  the  bottom  of  the  uncultivated  soil.  In  this  layer,  never 
as  yet  having  been  exposed  to  air  and  light,  failure  of  the  crops  would 
be  inevitable,  not  only  of  beets,  but  also  of  all  succeeding  grain  crops. 
Many  farmers  in  this  country  have  paid  dearly  for  this  experience.  In 
the  first  plowing  not  more  than  four  to  five  inches  of  the  uncultivated 
soil  should  be  taken  up,  i.  e.,  besides  the  four  or  five  inches  cultivated 
soil  at  the  very  outside  another  four  or  five  inches.  It  would  not  be  ad- 
visable to  increase  the  original  four  to  five  inches  in  fall  plowing  to  more 
than  eight  to  ten  inches.  The  subsoil  plow  may  of  course  go  as  deep  as 
possible,  i.  e.,  as  deep  as  it  can  be  dragged  by  the  team. 

32 


If  the  plowing  has  not  been  done  in  the  fall,  it  should  be  started  as 
early  as  possible  in  the  spring,  /.  c.,  as  soon  as  the  frost  is  out  of  the 
ground  and  the  ground  dry  enough  to  prevent  sticking. 

In  following  the  outlined  instructions  the  soil  gets  the  necessary 
airing,  and  the  snow  and  the  frost  of  the  winter,  and  the  sun  of  the 
spring  will  give  it  the  required  mellowness  and  looseness  and  get  it  in 
good  condition  for  planting  the  seed  the  latter  part  of  April  or  beginning 
of  May. 

PREPARING  For  a  perfect  seed  bed  the  soil  should  be  worked 

THE   SEED   BED     to  t^ie  depth  °f  f°ur  or  ^ve  inches,  by  the  use  of 

a  pulverizer  or  cultivator,  once  lengthwise  and 

once  crosswise.  This  work  must  be  done  thoroughly,  so  as  to  loosen  any 
weeds  that  may  already  have  sprouted.  Next  the  field  is  cross-harrowed 
once  each  way  to  level  the  soil  perfectly  and  finish  killing  the  weeds. 
After  this  with  the  use  of  a  heavy  roller  the  top  soil  should  be  smoothed 
and  packed  well  (two  to  three  inches).  The  killing  of  the  weeds  is  ab- 
solutely necessary.  If  weeds  are  allowed  to  get  a  start  the  cultivation  of 
the  crop  will  involve  much  unnecessary  and  expensive  hand  work,  be- 
sides affecting  the  result.  The  better  the  ground  is  packed  the  better  the 
seed  will  sprout.  Instead  of  a  roller  a  plank  float  about  eight  to  ten 
feet  wide  may  be  used.  This  preparation  of  the  seed  bed  must  be  done 
when  the  ground  is  in  good  working  condition  and  immediately  before 
planting,  say  the  day  previous  if  not  the  same  day,  and  for  the  following 
reasons  :  First,  because  the  seed  requires  considerable  moisture  to  ger- 
minate, and  allowing  the  seed  bed  to  dry  out  might  be  followed  by  serious 
consequences  as  to  yield  ;  secondly,  by  preparing  the  seed  bed  ahead  of 
planting  the  weeds  would  not  get  a  good  start. 


SEED  The  field  is  now  ready  to  receive  the  seed.  The  planting  is 
usually  done  from  April  i5th  to  May  2oth.  But  first  and  fore- 
most let  us  say  that  the  success  of  beet  culture  depends  mainly  on  securing 
the  right  kind  of  seed.  This  is  all  important,  and  the  farmer  (or  the 
factory  which  purchases  the  seed  and  supplies  the  farmer  under  contract) 
cannot  be  too  careful  in  the  selection  of  the  seed. 

Henry  W.  Diederich,  U.  S.  Consul  at  Magdeburg,  in  a  report  made 
last  fall  to  the  State  Department,  sounds  a  timely  warning,  as  follows  : 

'  '  If  I  may  express  an  opinion  based  on  my  personal  observation,  it 
is  that  some  of  our  beet-  growers  should  insist  more  than  they  have  upon 
getting  none  but  the  very  best  beet  seed,  grown  from  high  grade  individ- 
ual "mother"  beets,  to  distribute  under  the  beet  growers.  This  first 
class  seed  is  sold  and  delivered  by  the  growers  on  board  cars  in  Saxony 
at  from  8  to  10  cents  per  pound,  which  is  a  moderate  price,  considering 
the  fact  that  it  takes  at  least  four  years  to  get  it  into  the  market. 

33 


"  There  is  also  second  class  seed  offered  for  sale  in  this  country,  at 
from  5  to  6  cents  per  pound.  This  is  commonly  called  the  "Nachzucht- 
samen,"  being  a  seed  not  produced  from  the  mother  beets,  but  from  the 
first  class  seed  mentioned  above.  This  inferior  grade  however  is  not  used 
by  first  class  sugar  men  in  Germany,  France,  Holland  and  Belgium,  but 
most  of  it  goes  to  Austria,  Russia  and  the  United  States. 

4 '  And  this  is  why  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  call  attention  to  the  im- 
portance of  getting  only  the  very  best  of  seed  obtainable.  In  my  opinion 
those  American  growers  of  sugar  beets  who  buy  cheap  grades  of  seed 
make  a  great  mistake.  All  kinds  of  seed  have  a  natural  tendency  to 
degenerate.  Even  the  first  class  seed  mentioned  above  will  not  bring 
forth  beets  that  come  up  to  the  standard  of  the  original  mother  beet,  but 
will  show  a  loss  of  from  one-half  to  one  per  cent,  of  sugar  content.  Now 
the  second  generation  of  seed  will  degenerate  more  than  as  much  again, 
and  lose  from  one  per  cent,  to  two  per  cent.  This  is  a  small  amount 
when  considered  by  itself,  yet  it  is  sufficient,  not  only  to  turn  the  profits 
of  a  sugar  factory  into  a  loss,  but  even  to  drive  the  concern  to  the  wall. ' ' 

So  far  most  of  the  seed  used  in  this  country  comes  from  Europe, 
principally  Germany,  Austria,  Hungary  and  France,  where  seed  growing 
has  been  going  on  in  many  families  for  three  or  four  generations.  They 
devoted  themselves  entirely  to  the  culture  of  beet  seed  and  the  purifying 
of  the  beet  race  was  cared  for  and  improved  upon  on  scientific  principles 
in  accordance  with  the  theory  of  races,  just  like  stock  raising.  By  cross- 
ing the  best  varieties  and  repeated  critical  selection  of  mother  beets  a 
constant  improvement  was  obtained,  so  that  to-day  the  sugar  content  of 
the  beet  varies  between  15  and  20  per  cent.,  while  formerly  only  6  to  8 
per  cent,  could  be  obtained.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  highest  point  in 
this  direction  has  not  yet  been  reached.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  a  further  improvement  in  the  sugar  beet  will  be  obtained,  until  the 
highest  standard  of  quality  is  obtained. 

In  Utah  some  farms  were  started  in  1895,  by  the  Mormons,  for  the 
exclusive  production  of  sugar  beet  seed.  A  second  American  sugar  beet 
seed  farm  has  been  started  at  Los  Cruces,  N.  M.,  and  others  will  undoubt- 
edly follow  in  short  order.  There  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  grow 
our  own  seed,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  course  of  time  we  will  become 
independent  of  Europe  in  this  respect.  For  some  years  to  come,  howev- 
er, we  will  have  to  rely  for  the  supply  of  most  of  the  seed  on  Europe. 
Sugar  beet  growing  is  one  of  the  most  intricate  features  of  the  industry, 
and  it  will  take  years  of  patient  study  and  practise  until  we  shall  have 
established  a  safe  and  reliable  seed  production  of  our  own.  Until  then 
we  shall  have  to  depend  upon  the  old  established  reputable  seed  growers 
of  Europe,  such  a  Gebr.  Dippe  in  Quedlinburg,  F.  Knauer  in  Graebers, 
Rabbethge  &  Giesecke  in  Kleinwanzleben,  Otto  Breustedt  in  Schladen, 
Vilmorin-Andrieux  &  Co.,  of  Paris,  and  others. 

34 


In  selecting  the  seed  soil  conditions  should  of  course  be  taken  into 
consideration,  .and  it  is  generally  only  by  practical  experiments  that  one 
can  ascertain  what  variety  or  varieties  are  best  suited  for  a  certain  soil ; 
hence  we  would  advise  to  give  all  the  best  known  varieties  a  trial. 

PLANTING  The  planting  of  the  seed,  20  to  25  Ibs.  per  acre,  accord- 
THE  SEED  *n&  to  so^  an^  climatic  conditions,  is  best  done  by  a 
seed  drill,  handwork  in  planting  being  less  reliable. 
With  the  machine  drill  the  farmer  can  plant  accurately  and  in  a  straight 
line,  which  is  necessary  in  order  to  enable  the  horse-hoe  to  do  its  work 
without  damaging  the  plants.  It  is  claimed  that  seeds  planted  with  the 
machine  drill  sprout  earlier  and  develope  better  than  those  planted  by 
hand. 

The  seeds  should  be  planted  in  rows  from  14  to  18  inches  apart,  not 
deeper  than  necessary  for  a  thin  covering  of  soil.  Never  try  to  save  a 
few  pounds  of  seed,  for  it  is  much  easier  to  thin  out  the  surplus  small 
plants  with  a  good  stand  than  to  replant  in  case  of  a  poor  stand.  It  is 
desirable  when  the  plants  come  up,  that  they  should  touch  each  other. 
Should  a  crust  be  formed  on  the  field  after  heavy  rain  one  plant  will  help 
the  other  to  break  through.  The  width  of  the  rows  must  to  some  extent 
be  determined  by  the  richness  of  the  soil. 

For  the  conservation  of  winter  moisture,  for  seeding  purposes,  the 
implements,  plow  or  extirpator  then  the  harrow  and  roller,  should  fol 
low  in  spring  plowing  one  another  as  soon  as  possible  before  the  clod  may 
find  time  to  harden  in  the  sun. 

Deep  planting  must  be  avoided,  especially  in  heavy  soil,  as  otherwise 
the  plants,  if  they  come  up  at  all,  will  be  weak,  and  in  case  of  very  early 
planting  the  seed  is  apt  to  rot  in  the  ground.  As  to  soaking  the  seed 
and  the  use  of  the  roller  before  and  after  the  drilling,  or  both  before  and 
after,  this  must  depend  on  local  conditions.  Regular  rules  cannot  be  set 
up  for  it,  but  every  practical  farmer  will  decide  the  question  for  himself. 
As  a  general  rule  we  would  not  advise  soaking  of  the  seed,  for  if  dry 
weather  should  set  in  immediately  after  planting  all  sprouted  seeds  would 
perish.  An  excess  of  seed  will  produce  in  a  very  wet  spring  the  inconve- 
nience that  some  more  work  will  be  necessary  in  thinning  out  the  plants. 
This  extra  work  however,  and  the  small  extra  expense  for  seed  will  be 
amply  repaid  in  the  fall  by  the  larger  amount  of  beets  harvested. 

CULTIVATING  The  next  important  work  of  the  beet  farmer  is 
THE  BEET  hoeing  and  thinning  out.  Before  plants  are  up 

many  small  weeds  just  germinating  may  be  killed 

by  hoeing  the  surface  over  the  rows  with  a  steel  rake.  The  main  thing 
is  to  kill  all  weeds  as  fast  as  they  appear  and  to  keep  the  ground  loose. 
This  work  is  best  performed  with  a  one-horse  cultivator  working  two  or 

35 


four  rows  at  a  time.  If  immediately  after  planting  the  seed  heavy  rains 
should  form  a  crust  on  the  field  a  light  harrow  may  be  used,  but  only  in 
case  the  seed  has  not  germinated,  otherwise  it  would  be  better  to  use  a 
cultivator,  following  the  rows  easily  discernable  from  the  marks  of  the 
presswheels.  As  soon  as  the  plants  break  through  the  ground  and  the 
rows  can  be  followed,  actual  cultivation  must  begin.  It  is  almost  im- 
possible to  cultivate  and  hoe  too  much.  Frequent  hoeing  is  one  of  the 
main  causes  for  satisfactory  and  heavy  yields.  In  Germany  they  say  the 
' '  sugar  is  hoed  into  the  beets. ' '  Three  hoeings  are  absolutely  necessary 
and  considered  as  sufficient,  but  we  would  strongly  advise  at  least  four 
to  five  hoeings.  The  additional  hoeings  will  of  course  involve  extra 
work  and  extra  expense,  but  these  will  be  amply  repaid  by  a  heavier  and 
fuller  yield  of  beets.  Experiments  in  this  direction  have  shown  that  the 
additional  hoeings  increased  the  yield  from  an  acre  one-half  to  three-fourths 
ton  and  more,  and  produced  a  better  quality  of  beets.  The  reason  is  easily 
explained  :  Frequent  hoeings  keep  down  weeds,  loosen  the  soil,  so  that 
the  air  can  exert  its  beneficial  influence  and  keep  the  moisture  in  the 
ground.  Hoeing  should  be  begun  as  early  as  possible,  twice  before  the 
thinning  out,  which  should  be  started  as  soon  as  the  young  plants  have 
roots  about  one-eighth  to  one-sixth  inch  in  diameter,  or  are  about  two 
inches  in  height.  Great  care  must  be  taken  in  attending  to  this  part  oj  the 
work,  which  is  the  most  important  of  all  the  cultivating  work. 

THINNING  OUT       Early  thinning  out  is  the  main  requisite  for 

successful  beet  raising,  and  can  only  be  done 

properly  by  hand.  The  thinning  out  must  be  done  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  leave  the  plants  standing  six  to  eight  inches  apart.  In  very  rich  soil 
six  inches  and  even  four  inches  space  between  each  beet  in  the  row  would 
be  preferable,  in  fairly  rich  soil  it  would  be  advisable  to  thin  out  to  eight 
inches  apart,  while  in  poor  land  thinning  out  to  ten  inches  apart  is  necessary. 

The  rows  should  first  be  spaced  or  bunched,  which  is  done  with  a 
small  four-inch  hoe,  cutting  a  four-inch  bunch  of  beets  out  and  leaving  a 
two-inch  space,  which  will  contain  several  plants,  all  of  which  are  re- 
moved by  hand  pulling  except  the  strongest  plant.  If  timely  thinning 
out  is  neglected  the  roots  become  entangled,  making  the  thinning  detri- 
mental to  the  plant  that  is  left.  In  small  beet  fields  the  thinning  can 
generally  be  done  by  the  family  of  the  farmer,  but  the  work  must  be 
done  quickly,  and  where  a  larger  acreage  has  to  be  attended  to  it  is  ad- 
visable to  hire  help  rather  than  delay  the  work  until  the  beets  attain 
much  size.  The  pulling  out  of  the  surrounding  plants  leave  the  remain- 
ing one  in  weak  condition,  which  is  not  the  case  while  only  beginning  to 
send  its  root  into  the  ground. 

After  the  thinning  out  three  more  hoeings,  or  if  possible  four  should 
be  given,  and  the  beet  needs  no  further  care  until  the  harvesting  time, 
about  five  months  after  planting. 

36 


WIDTH  OF  ROWS       As  to  the  distance  from  beet  to  beet  we 

would  recommend  18x8  inches,  which  would 

give  to  each  beet  in  the  aggregate  144  square  inches,  and  which  as  expe- 
rience has  shown  is  the  right  average,  guarding  the  interests  of  both — 
the  farmer  for  many  beets,  and  the  factory  for  good  beets.  This  space 
of  144  square  inches  for  every  beet  ought  to  give  the  right  medium 
weight  of  one  and  one -half  to  two  pounds  per  beet  by  a  normal  growth 
of  the  field.  What  this  medium  weight  means  for  the  farmer  will  be 
seen  by  the  following  : 

At  18  inches  between  rows,  and  8  inches  apart  in  the  row,  there  will  be  18x8 
equals  144  inches  apart  for  each  plant. 

One  square  yard  equals  1296  square  inches,  or  144  :  1296  equals  9  beets. 
If  we  deduct  one-third  for  faulty  seed,  dying  plants  and  for  bare  spots  in  the 
field,  we  will  have  at  harvest  time  6  beets  for  each  square  yard. 
One  acre  contains  4,840  square  yards. 

6  beets  per  yard,  at  1      lb.,     equal    6  Ibs. 
6  beets  per  yard,  at  \yz  Ibs.,  equal    9  Ibs. 
6  beets  per  yard,  at  2      Ibs.,  equal  12  Ibs. 
Therefore,  per  acre  at  6  Ibs.  per  yard,  equal  14^  tons. 
9  Ibs.  per  yard,  equal  21%  tons. 
12  Ibs.  per  yard,  equal  29      tons. 

TONNAGE  This  shows  that  the  raising  of  10  to  15  tons  per  acre 
PER  ACRE  snould  be  easily  accomplished  with  good  tillage  and  tol- 
lerable  favorable  soil  and  climatic  conditions.  The 
average  tonnage  per  acre  varies  in  different  localities.  At  the  present 
time,  according  to  the  reports  of  the  Agricultural  Department,  the  aver- 
age yield  is  between  10  and  15  tons,  although  in  certain  localities  farmers 
can  raise  a  good  beet  with  a  tonnage  as  high  as  25  tons  to  the  acre. 

The  amount  of  sugar  obtained  from  one  ton  of  beets  depends  wholly 
upon  the  purity  of  the  beet  and  its  sugar  content.  Usually  the  amount 
ranges  from  8  to  12  per  cent.,  or  from  160  to  240  pounds.  Some  crops 
in  certain  sections  may  do  better,  but  the  forementioned  per  centage  is  a 
fair  estimate  of  the  average. 

We  may  here  refute  a  prejudice  often  found  among  farmers,  who 
have  never  before  raised  sugar  beets.  They  have  probably  heard  about 
the  so-called  '  'beet  weariness' '  of  beet  fields  in  Germany  and  fear  the 
same  condition  may  make  themselves  felt  in  this  country  in  time  to  come- 
There  is  absolutely  nothing  in  this.  In  the  first  place,  no  such  condi- 
tions are  known  any  more  in  Germany  since  fertilizers  like  Guano,  Po- 
tassium, Super  Phosphates,  etc.,  are  used.  This  subject  requires  no 
consideration  where  only  a  reasonable  percentage  of  the  areable  land  is 
used  for  best  culture.  To  the  contrary,  the  longer  a  field  will  be  under 
rational  beet  culture  the  larger  must  be  the  crops,  not  only  in  the  beets,  but 
also  in  the  grain  following  them.  This  has  been  found  correct  in  Europe 
during  fifty  years  of  observation,  and  same  conditions  will  result  in  this 
country.  We  have  already  proof  thereof  in  those  states  of  the  Union, 

37 


where  the  beet  sugar  industry  has  already  been  firmly  established.  We 
may  refer  in  this  connection  to:  "Transactions  of  the  California  State 
Agricultural  Board  for  1895,"  Sacramento,  A.  J.  Johnston,  Superin- 
tendent on  Printing  1896.  (Chapter  on  beets).  "This  report  shows 
plainly  that,  and  to  what  extent  the  yields  have  increased  on  the  beet 
farms  in  California  since  1890,  and  that  there  is  near  every  factory  a  zone 
in  a  radius  of  about  10  miles,  where  the  land  adapted  for  best  culture  has 
increased  five  and  eight  fold,  from  $30  to  $100  and  $250  per  acre.  These 
figures  speak  plainly  for  the  introduction  of  the  beet  culture  in  all  parts 
of  this  country  where  at  least  10  tons  per  acre  of  good  beets  for  sugar 
manufacturing  purposes  may  be  raised. 

MATURING  The  harvesting  of  beets  before  the  middle  of 

OF  THE  BEET  October  should  only  be  carried  on  to  the  extent 
HARVESTINC  necessary  to  satisfy  immediate  factory  require- 
ments. The  time  of  our  Indian  summer  is  the 

main  period  of  the  formation  of  the  sugar  in  the  beet.  The  beet  does  not 
grow  larger,  but  its  weight  and  purity  co-efficient  materially  increases. 
Climatic  conditions  in  the  various  states  of  course  will  have  to  be  con- 
sidered, but  it  should  be  made  a  fixed  rule  to  harvest  only  fully  ripened  beets. 

Cases  on  record  in  Europe  show,  that  factories  have  lost  as  much  as 
$15,000  to  $20,000  in  one  campaign  of  50,000  tons  of  beets  by  harvesting 
too  early,  i.  e.  at  a  time  when  but  a  small  portion  of  the  beets  were  fully 
matured.  Beets  taken  from  the  same  field  later  in  the  season  showed  a 
considerable  increase  in  sugar  contents  and  kept  well  in  the  Silos,  while 
those  harvesting  before  maturity  very  soon  began  to  rot.  The  advice 
not  to  start  harvesting  before  the  crop  is  ripe,  can  therefore  not  be  re- 
peated too  often.  A  few  warm  days  and  cool  nights  may  sometime  bring 
the  beet  to  complete  maturity  and  give  it  its  full  value.  A  sure  sign  of  the 
ripeness  of  the  beet  easily  discerned  by  the  experienced  eye,  is  the  change 
of  the  dark  green  color  of  the  beet  fields  into  a  light  yellowish  green. 
All  the  large  outside  leaves  will  be  found  to  have  withered  away,  leaving 
only  the  "heart"  with  its  yellowish  green  leaves  to  stand.  Of  course  it 
is  only  by  chemical  analysis,  that  the  ripeness  of  the  beet  can  be  accu- 
rately established  and  the  beets  should  not  be  considered  fully  matured, 
until  the  sugar  content  is  found  to  increase  no  more. 

The  sugar  factory  to  which  the  farmer  is  under  contract,  or  the 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  the  state  in  which  the  beets  are  raised, 
will  make  such  tests  free  of  charge  to  the  beet  grower.  It  is  advisable 
to  harvest  the  riper  stands  in  the  beet  fields  first  and  leave  the  greener 
stands  until  later,  perhaps  as  late  as  November.  In  as  much  as  beets  are 
not  injured  even  by  quite  a  severe  frost,  part  of  the  crop  may  be  left  in  the 
ground  in  an  ordinary  year  until  the  end  of  November  and  even  into  De- 
cember. The  harvesting  is  done  by  means  of  a  horse  puller,  which  loosens 
the  beet,  but  leaves  them  in  the  ground.  The  beets  are  then  easily  lifted 

38 


out  of  the  ground  by  means  of  their  leaves.  This  work  is  mostly  done  by 
hand  as  also  the  topping,  which  is  the  next  operation  in  order.  We  would 
not  advise  to  plow  out  the  beets  with  an  ordinary  plow,  as  by  its  use  a 
considerable  loss  results  from  breaking  off  the  lower  portion  of  the  root 
and  often  beets  are  missed. 

TOPPING     After  the  beet  has  loosened  by  the  puller  and  partially 

lifted  out  of  the  ground  the  topper  grasps  it  by  the  leaves 

and  lifts  it  with  his  left  hand  from  the  ground,  while  with  his  right  hand 


Fig.  8. 

PROPERTY  CAPPED   BEET. 


Fig.  9. 

IMPROPERLY   CAPPED   BEET. 


he  removes  the  crown  or  top  of  the  beet  by  one  blow,  cutting  just  at 
the  base  of  the  bottom  leaf.  (See  Figure  8.)  This  is  done  by  a  knife 
made  expressly  for  this  purpose,  but  a  strong,  well  riveted  butcher  knife 
with  a  10  inch  blade  will  perform  the  work  as  well.  Figure  9  shows  very 
strikingly  the  loss,  resulting  from  topping  an  improperly  raised  beet. 
All  that  part  which  grew  above  the  ground  must  be  removed,  if  the  beet 

39 


is  intended  for  factory  purposes,  for  the  reason  that  the  objectionable 
mineral  salts,  absorbed  by  the  beet  in  its  growth,  accumulate  in  the  top, 
particularly  in  that  portion  grown  above  the  surface.  These  salts  exer- 
cise a  very  deleterious  influence  on  the  crystallization  of  the  sugar,  hence 
must  not  be  allowed  to  enter  the  factory.  Where  beets  are  used  for 
stock  feeding,  only  the  top  need  be  removed. 

Unless  the  beets  are  intended  to  be  preserved  for  sugar  making  dur- 
ing the  winter  months  or  for  the  production  of  seed,  they  are  simply  put 
into  piles  and  the  tops  thrown  over  them,  as  a  protection  from  the  sun 
or  frost. 

PITTING — SILOING,      As  beets  shrink  considerable,  if  shipped  in 

warm  weather,  it  is  advisable  for  the  farmer 

to  pit  them  and  not  ship  to  the  factory  until  the  the  weather  gets  cool. 
The  extra  work  will  be  well  paid  by  the  gain  in  weight,  besides  it  will 
enable  the  farmer  to  harvest  his  crop  gradually  without  employing  extra 
labor,  while  otherwise  when  a  car  of  beets  must  be  loaded  in  one  day  to 
prevent  too  great  a  shrinkage,  it  requires  extra  help  and  often  all  other 
farm  work  has  to  be  neglected. 

The  pitting  must  be  done  before  the  ground  freezes  and  all  beets 
must  be  free  from  frost  when  pitted. 

The  pits  are  usually  arranged  in  a  straight  row  about  thirty  feet 
apart,  in  which  not  less  than  two  tons  of  topped  beets  are  placed,  making 
a  slanting  pile,  while  the  roots  lying  towards  the  center  of  the  pit.  The 
beets  should  not  be  covered  too  deeply  with  earth,  not  over  six  inches, 
when  first  pitted,  for  if  they  become  too  warm  in  the  pit,  they  rapidly 
loose  in  sugar  content.  To  allow  for  ventilation  two  top  openings,  one 
foot  in  diameter,  should  be  left  in  each  pit.  A  light  layer  of  loose  straw 
(with  a  few  inches  of  dirt  on  top  of  the  straw  to  prevent  it  from  blowing 
away)  should  be  added  before  the  weather  gets  cold,  and  in  an  ordinary 
season  will  offer  sufficient  protection,  but  in  case  of  exceptionally  cold 
weather  it  may  be  found  necessary  to  cover  the  pits  with  long  manure 
to  prevent  heavy,  freezing.  If  properly  pitted  beets  will  keep  four  to  six 
months.  If  the  pits  are  not  properly  protected  and  the  beets  kept  from 
freezing,  they  will  rapidly  spoil  with  changes  in  temperature.  As  soon 
as  the  covering  of  the  silo  freezes  two  inches,  shut  ventilation  holes  with 
earth  and  keep  them  shut. 

COST  OF  GROWING  Jt  will  readily  be  understood  that  the 
BEETS  cost  Per  acre  °*  &rowin&  sugar  beets  will 

vary  in  different  localities  and  to  quite  a 

considerable  extent.  The  season,  the  kind  of  soil  and  the  skill  of  the 
grower  and  the  choice  of  the  seed,  are  factors  of  prime  importance.  Seed 
siuted  for  one  locality  would  not  suit  for  another. 

Then  the  cost  will  depend  on  the  price  of  labor,  rent  of  land  and 

40 


cost  of  fertilizer  the  acreage  planted  and  the  kind  of  implements  used. 
Those  who  have  grown  beets,  using  only  ordinary  farm  implements  for 
seeding,  cultivation  and  harvesting,  state  that  the  cost  per  acre  is  between 
$20.00  and  $30.00  With  improved  machinery,  such  as  a  beet-drill,  plant- 
ing four  rows  at  once,  a  cultivator  that  will  remove  the  weeds  and  do  all 
other  work  required  by  it  on  the  same  number  of  rows  for  each  trip 
across  the  field  and  a  harvester  that  will  dig  the  beets  by  horsepower,  the 
cost  per  acre  would  be  of  course  materially  lessened. 

As  an  instance  of  what  profits  farmers  can  make  by  beet  growing, 
we  quote  the  experience  of  H.  C.  Graves  &  Sons,  reported  in  an  Omaha 
paper.  They  planted  over  forty  acres  of  sugar  beets  at  Council  Bluffs, 
which  were  shipped  by  rail  to  the  Oxnard  factory,  at  Norfolk,  Nebr.,  at 
a  cost  of  $896.71.  The  total  cost  of  this  crop  laid  down  in  Norfolk  was 
$2,196.71.  Their  gross  receipts  amounted  to  $3,524.17,  leaving  a  net 
profit  of  $1,327.46,  or  $31.98  per  acre.  The  loss  through  shrinkage 
while  the  beets  were  in  transit  amounted  to  $171.82.  Had  the  beets  been 
grown  in  Norfolk  this  sum,  as  well  as  the  $896.71  of  freight,  would  have 
been  saved  and  the  net  profits  would  have  been  $2,495.99,  or  at  the  rate 
of  $57- 73  per  acre. 


Part  III. 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  BEET 
SUGAR. 


GENERAL  In  the  manufacture  of  sugar  field  work  and  factory  work 
REMARKS  are  cl°sely  interwoven  and  yet  each  has  its  distinctive 
sphere.  Practically,  the  manufacture  of  sugar  is 
accomplished  by  field  work,  while  the  work  of  the  factory  limits  itself  to 
the  extraction  of  the  sugar.  In  other  words,  the  sugar  in  the  beet  is 
formed  and  accumulated  on  the  field  and  this  accumulated  sugar  is  ex- 
tracted and  formed  into  marketable  shape  by  the  factory. 

The  manufacture  of  sugar  consequently  may  be  divided  into  two 
distinct  departments,  viz:  the  production  of  the  sugar  by  the  field  and 
its  extraction  and  reduction  to  a  marketable  form  by  the  factory.  These 
two  principal  divisions,  constituting  the  entire  process  of  the  manufac- 
ture of  sugar  must  complement  each  other;  in  fact  successful  sugar  manu 
facture  is  inconceivable,  where  field  work  and  factory  work  do  not  go 
hand  in  hand.  Furthermore  in  both  departments  satisfactory  results 
can  only  be  achieved  by  employing  the  most  up-to-date  improved  methods 
and  machinery  and  above  all  competent  and  expert  management. 

FACTORY  The  sound  basis  for  a  good  paying  beet  sugar 

REQUIREMENT'S     factorv  *s  verv   simple  and   stated   in   a   few 

words  :    A  sufficiently  large  quantity  of  beets 

of  the  possible  highest  quality  and  purity  to  suit  the  capacity  of  the 
factory,  an  abundant  supply  of  pure  water;  adequate  supply  of  fuels 
(coal,  coke,  etc.);  supply  of  limestone  of  suitable  quality;  labor  at 
reasonable  figures;  good  transportation  facilities;  a  market  in  which  to 
dispose  of  the  product  of  the  factory  and  its  by-products,  and  last  but 
not  not  least,  ample  capital. 

The  very  first  and  most  serious  consideration  in  starting  a  beet  sugar 
plant  must  be  given  to  the  selection  of  a  site,  for,  while  the  condition  for 
beet  sugar  raising  might  be  entirely  satisfactory  in  a  certain  locality, 
they  might  not  be  favorable  for  operating  a  factory. 

42 


FACTORY        The  site  must  be  selected  with  a  view  to  satisfying  in 
SITE  ^e  greatest  possible  measure,  the  necessary  require- 

ments for  the  successful  operation  of  a  factory  as 
stated  above.  There  is  more  than  one  case  on  record  where  poor  or 
hasty  judgment  in  the  selection  of  the  site,  not  only  greatly  diminished 
the  profits  of  a  factory,  but  caused  its  utter  collapse.  If  possible  the 
factory  should  be  so  located,  that  it  could  draw  its  beet  supply  from 
within  a  radius  of  say  not  more  than  six  miles,  so  that  the  beets  could 
be  delivered  by  wagon. 


A  GUMPSE  INTO  THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE   BAY   CITY   FACTORY. 


BEET  The  first  necessity  of  a  beet  sugar  factory  is  that  it  should 

SUPPLY  have  a  sure  supply  of  good  beets.  In  order  to  facilitate 
the  supplying  of  the  factory  with  such  beets  the  plant 
should  be  located  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  center  of  a  beet  growing 
district.  The  further  the  factory  is  away  from  the  beetfields  the  less 
advantageous.  Not  only  will  the  profit  of  the  farmer  be  lessened  by 
reason  of  his  having  to  pay  freight  to  the  railroad  company  for  trans- 
porting his  beets  to  the  factory,  but  there  is  also  the  additional  expense 
of  extra  handling  and  the  loss  in  weight,  necessarily  resulting  by  shrink- 

43 


age  during  transit.  It  has  been  variously  estimated  that  the  shrinkage 
amounts  to  about  20  per  cent  of  the  original  weight  in  seven  days.  This 
means  that  if  a  farmer,  for  instance,  got  twenty  tons  of  beets  from  an 
acre,  and  it  took  him  seven  days  to  deliver  to  the  factory,  he  would  lose 
one-fifth  of  his  crop  in  weight,  i.  e.,  he  would  get  paid  for  only  sixteen 
tons.  Of  course  the  percentage  of  sugar  would  be  higher,  but  the  ton- 
nage less.  It  is  also  claimed  that  the  factory  cannot  obtain  as  good 
results  from  beets  grown  at  a  distance,  as  from  those  grown  near  by 
and  delivered  by  wagon  right  after  having  been  harvested.  As  we  have 
shown  already  in  a  previous  chapter  under  fairly  favorable  conditions  as 
to  soil  and  climate  and  with  intelligent  field  work,  fifteen  and  even 
twenty  tons  of  beets  per  acre  ought  to  be  produced,  but  in  calculating 
for  the  beet  supply,  it  would  be  safer  to  figure  on  an  average  of  not  more 
than  twelve  tons,  especially  the  first  year,  when  probably  many  of  the 
farmers  are  not  as  yet  fully  educated  up  to  the  niceties  of  beet  culture. 
To  supply  a  350  ton  plant  it  would  require  therefore,  say  3600  acres  to 
be  planted  in  beets  every  year  and  on  the  three  year  rotation  plan  about 
10,800  acres  would  be  necessary  as  beet  area. 

QUALITY  The  minimum  percentage  of  sugar  required  in 

REQUIREMENTS      a  ^eet  atl(^  ^e^ow  which  factories,  as  a  rule, 

decline  to  accept  beets  is  12  percent,  although 

they  might  be  worked  to  a  profit  perhaps  as  low  as  1 1  per  cent,  provided 
they  ran  over  80  per  cent  in  purity.  The  sugar  content  and  purity  are 
the  factors  which  determine  the  quality  of  the  beet. 

A  high  purity  co-efficient  will  impress  the  practical  sugar  man  by  far 
more  than  high  polarization,  for  the  purity  co- efficient  is  the  real  deciding 
factor  for  the  value  of  the  beet  for  the  factory,  inasmuch  as  low  purity 
means  loss  of  sugar  in  manufacture.  The  following,  taken  from  Bulletin 
No.  64  of  the  Wisconsin  University  Experimental  Station,  by  Prof.W.  A. 
Henry,  may  be  of  interest  in  this  connection  : 

' '  The  problem  of  the  relative  value  to  the  sugar  manufacturer  of  beets  of  differ- 
ent purities  is  not  easily  solved,  and  concerning  which  there  is  a  great  diversity  of 
opinion  among  expert  sugar  makers.  The  nearest  approach  to  a  correct  expression 
of  this  relation  may  be  found  in  the  quantities  of  sugar  available  for  sugar  manufac- 
ture in  the  different  cases.  To  illustrate,  if  a  quantity  of  beets  test  12  per  cent  of 
sugar,  with  a  purity  of  80  per  cent,  100  pounds  of  these  beets  will  contain  12x80 — 9.6 
pounds  of  pure  crystalizable  sugar,  which  might  therefore,  under  ideal  conditions,  be 
recovered  as  first  sugar  and  in  low  grade  products.  In  the  same  manner  100  pounds  of 
13  per  cent  beets  with  a  purity  of  75  per  cent  would  furnish  13x75 — 9.75  pounds  avail- 
able sugar,  that  is  slightly  more  than  beets  of  the  former  quality.  According  to 
practical  factory  experience  12  per  cent  beets  of  80  per  cent  purity  will  give  the  same 
amount  of  sugar  per  ton  of  beets  as  13  pei  cent  beets  of  75  per  cent  purity,  viz  :  about 
160  pounds,  but  the  former  kind  of  beets  are  preferable  for  the  reason,  that  the  cost 
of  extracting  the  sugar  is  increased  in  case  of  beets  of  a  low  purity." 

44 


PURITY  By  the  co-efficient  of  purity  is  meant  the  per  cent 

CO-EFFICIENT     °^  so^  matter  in  the  juice,  in  the  form  of  sugar. 
A   purity   co-efficient  of  85  means,   that  85   per 
cent  of  the  solid  matter  in  the  juice  is  sugar. 

A  low  purity  co-efficient  is  due  to  the  presence  of  a  large  amount  of 
solids,  not  sugar  in  the  juice.  A  beet  testing  15  per  cent  sugar  with  a 
purity  co-efficient  of  85  contains  17.65  per  cent  of  solid  matter  in  the 
juice.  15  of  the  17.65  parts,  or  approximately  85  per  cent  is  sugar. 
Professor  W.  A.  Henry  of  the  Wisconsin  University  Station  gives  the 
following  lucid  explanation  in  Bulletin  No.  55  : 

"  *  *  *  In  the  pages  which  follow  we  speak  of  the  per  cent  of  sugar 
in  the  juice  and  the  co-efficient  of  purity.  Let  us  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  these  terms.  A  hundred  pounds  of  sugar  beets  contain  about 
ninety-five  pounds  of  juice.  This  juice  not  only  contains  sugar,  but 
various  other  substances,  largely  mineral  matter,  which  are  a  great 
hindrance,  causing  serious  losses  of  sugar  during  the  manufacture.  A 
hundred  pounds  of  average  beet  juice  will  carry  about  fifteen  pounds  of 
solid  matter,  of  which  twelve  pounds  may  be  sugar,  and  three  pounds 
matter  not  sugar.  If  we  divide  the  number  of  pounds  of  sugar  (12),  by 
the  total  pounds  of  solid  matter  (15),  we  get  80,  which  sum  is  called  the 
co-efficient  of  purity;  that  is  beet  juice  with  15  parts  solids,  12  of  which 
are  sugar,  is  said  to  have  co-efficient  of  purity  of  80.  If  the  sample  of 
juice,  contains  16  parts  solid  matter  and  12  parts  sugar  as  before,  then 
the  co-efficient  of  purity  is  only  75.  When  reducing  the  beet  juice  to 
make  sugar,  each  pound  of  foreign  matter,  not  sugar,  keeps  at  least  one 
pound  of  sugar  from  crystalizing.  This  true,  we  see  at  once,  that  the 
manufacturer  desires  beet  roots  not  only  carrying  much  sugar,  but  also 
with'  a  high  co-efficient  of  purity.  Immature  beets,  those  grown  on  soils 
rich  in. vegetable  matter  or  fertilized  with  fresh  barnyard  manure,  those 
grown  on  land  recently  cleared  from  forest,  or  on  drained  swamp  lands, 
are  all  liable  to  carry  a  great  deal  of  solid  matter  not  sugar  in  the  juice, 
and  consequently  are  quite  unsatisfactory  to  the  sugar  manufacturer. 
Large  beets  are  likewise  poor  in  sugar.  The  leaf  stems  of  the  beet,  as 
well  as  the  crown  of  the  beet  root  itself  also  carry  much  foreign  matter. ' ' 

WATER  SUPPLY      As  the  consumption  of  water  in  a  sugar  factory 

is  enormous, — (a  350  ton  plant,  for  instance, 

would  require  not  less  than  2,000,000  gallons  per  day  for  steam  purposes, 
diffusion  process,  transporting  beets  from  sheds  to  factory,  praying  the 
sugar,  and  other  operations) — an  abundant  supply  of  pure  water,  not 
alkaline,  must  be  obtainable  on  or  near  the  site  selected.  For  this  reason 
and  furthermore  with  a  view  to  the  cheapest  and  most  convenient  dis- 
position of  the  water  consumed — (perfect  drainage  is  absolutely  necessary) 
— location  on  a  river  or  creek  is  preferable.  The  water  course  from  which 
the  factory  is  to  receive  its  daily  supply  should  at  any  rate  not  be  more 

45 


distant  from  the  factory  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  so  that  the  conducting 
channel  or  conduit  pipes  will  not  require  too  large  an  investment. 

In  this  connection  the  following  extracts  from  "A  Hand-book  for 
Chemists  of  Beet  Sugar  Houses  and  Seed  Culture  Farms,"  by  Guilford  L. 
Spencer,  B.  Sc.,  of  the  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  will  prove  interesting: 

'  'Salts  in  solution  and  their  effect  in  Water  used  in  Sugar  Manufacture. 
The  condensation  water  from  the  multiple  effects,  vacuum  pans,  etc.  form 
an  abundant  and  very  satisfactory  supply  of  water  for  the  boilers. 

The  water  for  the  diffusion  battery  should  be  as  pure  as  possible  and 
should  contain  a  minimum  amount  of  calcium  and  magnesium  salts  and 


MICHIGAN   SUGAR   COMPANY'S   FACTORY,    BAY   CITY,    MICHIGAN. 
DIFFUSION   BATTERY. 

of  the  salts  mentioned  below  as  melassigenic.  The  calcium  and  magnesium 
salts,  notably  the  bicarbonates  and  the  sulphate  of  calcium,  foul  the  heat- 
ing surface  of  the  battery  and  evaporating  apparatus.  The  bicarbonates 
decompose  to  some  extent  in  the  diffusers  and  deposit  the  normal  car- 
bonates upon  the  cossettes  and  probably  influence  the  diffusion  unfavor- 
ably. The  water  should  not  contain  more  than  ten  parts  per  100,000  of 
calcium  sulphate,  otherwise  incrustation  may  form  at  some  stage  of  the 
concentration  of  the  liquors. 

46 


Pure  water  should  also  be  used  in  slacking  the  lime,  though  for 
economy  of  sugar  and  in  the  evaporation  certain  wash  waters  containing 
sugar,  etc. ,  are  used  for  this  purpose. 

The  most  important  melassigenic  salts  are  sulphates,  alkaline  car- 
bonates and  nitrates.  The  chlorides  are  rather  indifferent  as  regards  the 
formation  of  molasses." 

Under  the  heading  "Melassigenic  Salts"  Mr.  Spencer  says: 

"The  following  salts  are  positive  molasses  makers,  that  is,  salts  which 
promote  the  formation  of  molasses:  Carbonate  acetate,  butyrate  and 
citrate  of  potassium. 

The  following  have  no  influence  on  the  formation  of  molasses  and 
are  classified  as  indifferent:  Sulphate,  nitrate  and  chloride  of  potassium, 
carbonade  and  chloride  of  sodium,  calcium  hydrade,  valerate,  oxalate  and 
succinate  of  potassium  and  oxalate,  citrate  and  aspartate  of  sodium. 

The  negative  molasses  makers,  that  is,  salts  which  promote  the 
crystallization  of  succrose,  are  sulphate,  nitrate,,  acetate,  butyrate,  vale- 
rate  and  succinate  of  sodium,  sulphate,  chloride  and  bitrate  of  mag- 
nesium, the  chloride  and  nitrate  of  calcim  and  the  aspartate  of  pottassium. ' ' 

FUEL,   COAL,      Fuel   represents  another  important  item,  to  be  care- 

COKES    ETC.      fully  considered  in  establishing  and   selecting   the 

location  of  a  beet  sugar  factory.     For  each  ton  of 

beets  about  13  to  15  per  cent,  of  coal  and  i^  to  2  percent,  of  coke 
is  required,  the  latter  for  burning  the  lime  stone  and  for  producing  car- 
bonic acid  gas, — (which  is  obtained  by  combustion  of  coke  and  charcoal 
in  ovens  specially  prepared  for  this  purpose), — and  the  former  to  produce 
steam  power.  A  factory  working  up  500  tons  of  beets,  for  instance, 
would  consume  about  75  tons  of  coal  and  7^  to  10  tons  of  coke  every 
24  hours.  Fuel  as  will  be  seen  is  one  of  the  chief  factors  of  the  cost  of 
production.  In  some  localities  crude  petroleum  is  used  for  fuel.  It  is 
said  to  be  well  adapted  to  the  factory  work,  cause  less  dirt  and  require 
less  labor  to  handle  it,  thus  making  up  largely  for  what  it  lacks  in  cheap- 
ness. The  coke  should  be  72  hour  coke,  practically  free  from  moisture 
and  should  contain  about  92  per  cent,  of  carbon  and  not  more  than  ^  to 
i  per  cent,  of  Sulphur. 

The  consumption  of  coal  depends  on  the  one  hand  upon  the  perfect 
construction  of  the  boiler  plant,  and  on  the  other  hand  upon  the  complete 
utilization  of  the  steam,  as  well  as  upon  the  most  economical  accumula- 
tion and  utilization  of  all  calory  derived  from  the  vapors  of  the  boiling 
beet  juices.  In  well  equipped  German  and  Austrian  factories  the  con- 
sumption of  coal  amounts  to  from  7  to  12  per  cent. 

In  reviewing  this  subject  "La  Sucrerie  Indigene,"  the  leading  paper 
of  the  industry  in  France  in  its  issue  of  March  16,  '97,  had  the  following  : 

"  The  most  significant  fact  is  presented  by  the  figure  of  steam  for  1(0  kilos  of 
beets  being  not  over  62  per  cent,  which  means  62  steam  per  100  pounds  or  kilos  of 

47 


beets,  corresponding  with  70  kilos  with  our  regular  quality  of  French  coal  per  ton  of 
beets.  The  factory  Ouval,  Bohemia  shows  a  figure  in  fuel  below  70  kilos  and  in  loca- 
tions where  coal  is  cheap,  the  manufacturers  do  not  hesitate  for  a  moment  in  invest- 
ing the  needed  money,  sometimes  in  very  large  amounts,  in  improvements  with 
regard  to  fuel  percentage.  What  are  the  French  manufacturers  doing  in  regard  to 
coal  consumption  in  sugar  factories  ?  About  nothing.  They  consume  140  kilos  per 
ton  of  beets  or  double  the  amount  used  in  Austrian  factories." 

Here  is  an  object  lesson  for  our  factories,  who  in  some  instances 
have  used  not  7,  nor  14,  but  23  per  cent.  In  other  words,  460  pounds 
or  230  kilos  per  ton  of  beets. 


MICHIGAN   SUGAR   COMPANY'S   FACTORY — CARBONATING 
TANKS   AND  DIFFUSION   BATTERY. 

Since  prices  of  coal  and  cokes  vary  considerably  in  different  locations, 
the  necessity  of  thoroughly  looking  into  this  question  of  fuel  supply  will 
be  readily  understood. 

LIMESTONE        A  ready  supply  of  the  right  quality  of  limestone  at 
a  reasonable  price,  of  which  the  sugar  factories  need 

large  quantities,  is  the  next  point  to  be  considered  in  studying  the  condi- 
tions of  a  locality  with  a  view  of  erecting  a  factory.  It  is  absolutely 
necessary  that  this  limestone  should  be  pure  and  free  from  any  elements 
hurtful  or  hindering  in  the  manufacture  of  sugar. 

48 


G.  L.  Spencer,  the  before  cited  authority,  offers  the  following  "Sug- 
gestions on  the  Desirable  and  Undesirable  Composition  of  Limestone 
Used  in  Sugar  Manufacture:" 

The  difficulties  usually  encountered  in  the  management  of  the  lime  kiln  are 
as  follows:  A  limestone  containing  too  much  silica  will  show  a  tendency  to  fuse,  and 
if  overheated  will  adhere  firmly  to  the  walls  of  the  kiln.  Stone  in  too  small  pieces, 
or  stone  and  coke  not  properly  distributed,  or  stone  with  an  excess  of  coke  will 
sometimes  "scaffold"  or  bridge.  The  above  conditions  soon  prevent  the  downward 
progress  of  the  stone  and  lime.  These  difficulties  are  obviated  by  the  use  of  suitable 
stone,  properly  mixed  with  the  coke  and  evenly  distributed  in  the  kiln,  and  by  the 
withdrawal  of  lime  at  regular  intervals.  Should  the  charge  "scaffold"  in  the  kiln,  it 
can  only  be  broken  down  by  the  withdrawal  of  a  considerable  quantity  of  material  at 
the  lime  doors  and  energetic  use  of  an  iron  bar  at  the  "peep-holes."  The  use  of  too 
little  coke  or  the  too  rapid  withdrawal  of  lime  results  in  an  undue  proportion  of 
underburned  or  raw  lime.  The  admission  of  too  little  air  to  the  kiln  results  in  an 
imperfect  combustion  and  an  excess  of  carbonic  oxide  in  the  gas.  This  carbonic 
oxide  not  only  is  a  loss  of  carbon,  but  if  carelessly  inhaled  by  the  workmen,  may 
result  in  serious  poisoning.  The  addition  of  too  much  air  dilutes  the  gas.  This  latter 
may  result  from  leakage  in  the  pipes,  careless  charging  or  from  driving  the  gas  pump 
too  fast.  The  following  table  contains  valuable  information  relative  to  the  quality  of 
the  limestone  : 

Analysts  of  Limestones  and  Comments  on  their  Composition* 

(By  Gallois  and  Dupont,  Paris. ) 


SUBSTANCE 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

Moisture   

% 
4.10 
4.50 
1.20 
2.10 
.37 
85.86 
.95 
.05 
.87 

% 

5.10 
5.15 
1.17 
1  75 
.41 
85.12 
.47 
.06 
.77 

% 

7.25 
4.90 
1.37 
3.30 
.27 
81.67 
.59 

67 

% 
4.15 
2.15 
1.05 
1.05 
.17 
90.13 
.75 
.10 
.45 

% 
4.17 
3.07 
.97 
.98 
.19 
88.65 
.95 
.01 
1.00 

% 
6.25 
3.17 
1.12 
.64 
.15 
87.93 
.50 

% 
5..  16 
2.25 

.86 
.56 
.20 
90.03 
.45 

% 

0.52 
2.85 
.30 
.06 
.32 
93.80 
1.81 

i 

1.21 
.55 
.41 

.20 
.23 

96.58 
.50 

% 

0.11 
.27 
.15 

.03 

Sand  Clay  and  Insoluble  Matter 

Organic  Matter        

Soluble  Silica 

Oxides  of  Iron  and  Alumina  (Fe203  A1.203). 
Carbonate  of  Calcium  (Ca,  COS)  

99.10 

Carbonate  of  Magnesium  (Mg,  C03)  

Sodium  of  Potassium  (!Va20,  K20) 

Undetermined     

,24 

.39 

.34 

.32 

.34 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

100.00 

Nos.  1,  2,  3  and  4  are  bad,  Nos.  5,  6  and  7  are  passable,  and  Nos.  8,  9  and  10  are 
excellent.  Ljmestone  No.  3  was  used  in  a  sugar  house  and  caused  much  trouble 
notably  "scaffolding,"  difficulty  in  the  mechanical  filtration,  incrustations  in  the 
triple  effect  and  on  the  vacuum  pan  coils.  No.  9  was  substituted  for  this  stone  and 
these  difficulties  disappeared. 

In  the  examination  of  a  limestone  its  physical  condition  as  well  as  as  its  chem- 
ical composition  must  be  taken  into  account.  The  stone  should  be  compact  and  hard, 
thus  reducing  the  quantity  of  fragments  and  the  risk  of  "scaffolding"  in  the  kiln. 

Excessive  moisture,  5$  or  more,  in  the  stone  reduces  the  temperature  of  a  kiln 
when  charging,  involving  an  imperfect  combustion  and  the  production  of  carbonic 
oxide  (CO);  further,  such  stones  break  into  small  pieces  under  the  influence  of  the 
heat.  A  small  proportion  of  water,  approximately  1#,  probably  facilitates  the  decom- 
position of  the  stone,  and  is  advantageous. 

49 


Magnesium  is  not  objectionable,  so  far  as  the  operation  of  the  kiln  is  concerned 
except  in  the  presence  of  silicates,  but  it  introduces  difficulties  in  the  purification  of 
the  juice  and  forms  incrustations  on  the  heating  surfaces  of  the  evaporating  appar- 
atus. It  forms  fusible  silicates  at  high  temperatures  and  thus  increases  the  tendency 
to  "scaffolding."  The  objections  to  the  sulphate  of  calcium  are  practically  the  same 
as  to  magnesium. 

The  objections  to  the  presence  of  silicates  are,  as  indicated  above,  in  the  form- 
ation of  fusible  silicates  of  lime  and  magnesium.  Part  of  the  silica  passes  into  the 
juice  of  the  lime,  retards  the  filtration  with  the  presses,  and  coats  the  cloth  of  mechan- 
ical filters,  to  their  detriment.  Silica  also  forms  part  of  the  scale  on  the  heating 
surface.  Less  harm  results  from  this  substance  in  hard  limestones  than  from  that  in 
soft  stones  ;  hence  if  the  stone  be  hard  and  compact,  a  larger  content  of  silica  is  ad- 
missible, than  in  soft  stone. 

When  necessarily  using  stone  of  comparatively  poor  quality,  the  best  obtainable 
coke  should  be  used. 

LABOR  Frequently  a  very  serious  problem  is  presented  in  the  labor 
question.  The  field  work,  i.  e.  the  cultivation  of  the  beet 
fields  requires  a  large  amount  of  hand  labor  and  during  a  few  weeks  each 
summer  extra  hands  are  needed  for  weeding,  hoeing  and  thinning  the 
crop;  then  again  extra  help  is  needed  for  the  harvesting  of  the  crop  in  the 
fall  of  the  year.  The  factory  on  the  other  hand  requires  outside  of  the 
skilled  labor,  many  common  laborers,  employed  during  the  campaign, 
hence  if  possible  the  enterprise  should  not  be  started  far  from  cities  or 
towns  of  a  floating  population  where  labor  can  be  supplied  at  short  notice 
and  reasonable  cost. 

TRANSPORTATION  A  verY  important  consideration  in  the 
FACILITIES  selection  of  a  site  for  a  sugar  factory  are 

the   transportation    facilities.      There   is 

considerable  freight  traffic  connected  with  the  sugar  factory.  Not  to 
speak  of  the  hundreds  of  carloads  of  building  materials,  machinery,  etc., 
that  must  be  brought  to  the  site  for  the  erection  of  the  factory,  there  is  a 
steady  traffic  in  bringing  supplies,  such  as  beets,  coal,  limestone,  coke, 
etc.,  sometimes  from  distant  points,  to  the  factory  and  in  taking  out  the 
finished  product  and  the  by-products.  Then  again  the  transportation 
facilities  are  often  needed  to  bring  the  workers  in  and  around  the  factory 
to  and  from  their  homes.  Most  of  the  traffic  is  concentrated  into  the 
brief  period  of  the  campaign,  hence  ample  railway  or  water  transportation 
facilities  are  absolutely  necessary. 

MARKET  FACILITIES       A  ready  market  in  close  proximity  to 

the  factory  is  perhaps  not  one  of  the 

least  important  conditions  for  success.  The  accessibility  to  trade  centers, 
availability  of  transportation  by  water,  as  well  as  a  larger  number  of  rail- 
roads, thus  insuring  cheap  freight  and  greater  facilities  for  marketing 
the  product  quickly,  also  the  question  as  to  whether  these  facilities  are 

50 


sufficient  to  permit  of  competition  with  other  localities,  perhaps  more 
favored  in  this  regard,  are  points  which  must  be  given  very  serious 
thought  before  deciding  on  a  location. 


THE  FACTORY  AND 
ITS  INTERNAL 
ARRANGEMENT 


The  site  for  a  factory  having  been 
selected  with  proper  regard  to  the  various 
conditions  just  discussed,  the  construct- 
ing engineer  can  arrange  his  plans  in 
such  a  manner,  so  as  to  attain  the  most  satisfactory  results  in  the  most 
economical  way,  compatible  with  safety.  Of  course  it  will  be  readily 
understood,  that  it  is  altogether  impossible  to  work  all  plans  after  one 


MICHIGAN  SUGAR   COMPANY'S  FACTORY,    BAY   CITY,    MICHIGAN. 
FII/TER   PRESSES. 

pattern.  What  might  suit  one  locality,  might  be  utterly  unsuitable  for 
another,  and  what  would  be  a  cheap  plan  for  one  locality  might  turn  out 
an  expensive  one  for  another. 

A  modern  sugar  factory  must  be  so  arranged  and  equipped  as  to 
make  it  possible  under  expert  and  intelligent  management  to  extract  at 
the  lowest  cost  of  production,  all  the  sugar  contained  in  the  beet  and  to 
convert  it  into  marketable  form.  This  can  only  be  done  by  machinery 
and  apparatus  of  the  most  approved  and  modern  type  and  making  use  of 
every  device  whereby  labor  may  be  saved.  In  designing,  erecting  and 

51 


instaling  sugar  factories,  the  aim  of  The  Fred  W.  Wolf  Company  is 
always,  to  double  and  treble  results  by  introducing  the  most  modern 
and  improved  apparatuses  and  mechanical  appliances,  whereby  the  labor 
of  many  hands  can  be  saved  and  the  process  of  manufacture  simplified 
and  shortened  and  the  cost  of  production  lessened. 

A  sugar  factory  may  be  said  to  be  divided  into  two  main  depart- 
ments, viz:  The  Beet  Department  and  the  Sugar  Department.  The 
former  is  subdivided  again  in  the  following  stations: 

i — Wash  Station,  where  the  beets  are  cleaned. 

2 — Juice  Station,  where  the  raw  juice  is  extracted  from  the  beets  and 
purified,  taking  in  Diffusion,  Carbonation  and  Filtration. 

3 — Evaporating  Station,  where  the  juice  is  condensed. 

The  Sugar  Department  may  be  divided  as  follows; 

i — Station  where  the  juice  is  turned  into  white  sugar. 

2 — Station  where  the  product  is  gotten  ready  for  the  market. 

The  afore  mentioned  stations  and  departments  are  housed  in  one 
main  building,  which  has  a  number  of  annexes,  such  as  a  boiler  house, 
lime-kiln,  oil  house,  cooperage,  beetsheds,  sugar  storage  house  and  office 
building.  Sometimes  one  or  the  other  of  these  annexes  is  included  in  the 
main  building. 

The  internal  arrangement  of  an  up-to-date  sugar  plant  is  as  follows: 

GROUND  FLOOR.  SECOND   FLOOR. 

Washer.  Beet  Elevator. 

Beet  Elevator.  Diffusion  Battery. 

Pulp  Pit  Under  Diffusion  Battery.  Carbonation  Tanks. 

Engines  &  Dynamos.  Quadruple  Effect  (Evaporators.) 

Pumps.  White  Sugar  Mixer. 

Centrifugals.  Granulator. 

Sugar  Melter.  Sugar  Elevator. 

Sugar  Elevator.  Dustroom . 

Machine  Shop.  Labratories. 

Office. 

THIRD  FLOOR.  FOURTH  FLOOR.  FIFTH  FLOOR. 

Crystalizers.  Beet  Elevator.  Sulphutation  Tanks. 

Pulp  Presses.  Automatic  Scale.  Condensers. 

Slicer. 

Filter  Presses. 

Vacuum  Pans. 

Mechanical  Filters. 

In  the  foregoing  plan  we  have  not  considered  installations  necessary 
to  diminish  the  loss  which  occurs,  owing  to  the  inability  to  extract  all 
crystalizable  sugar  from  the  residue  molasses,  forming  from  16  to  25  per 
cent,  of  the  boiled  syrup. 

There  are  various  methods,  such  as  the  Osmose  process,  the  Steffen, 
the  Ranson  process,  and  the  Strontian  process,  and  others,  by  which  this 
loss  can  be  reduced  to  some  extent.  The  installation  for  the  last  two 

52 


mentioned  processes  is  rather  complex  and  expensive.  The  latest  pat- 
ented process  is  the  new  and  improved  Steffen  process,  already  introduced 
in  a  number  of  European  factories,  whose  experience  has  verified  the 
claims  of  the  inventor,  that  by  this  method  90  to  92  percent  of  the  sugar 
content  of  the  beet  may  be  recovered  in  white  finished  product. 

PROCESS  OF  The  beets  freed  from  tops  and  adhering  dirt 

MANUFACTURING  are  delivered  at  the  factory  in  wagons  and 
oTjp  AD  cars.  After  being  weighed  and  sampled 

they  are  unloaded  into  large  storage  sheds 

with  V  shaped  bottoms,  at  the  apex  of  which  is  a  covered  trough,  ex- 
tending the  entire  length  of  the  shed.  The  trough  has  a  movable  cover- 
ing and  contains  a  stream  of  running  water.  Starting  at  one  end  of  the 
shed,  part  of  the  covering  is  removed  and  the  beets  are  allowed  to  fall 
into  the  water,  which  conveys  them  into  the  factory. 


Here  they  are  carried  by  an  elevator  to  the  washer,  which 
HOUSE  consists  of  a  tank  kept  constantly  full  of  fresh  water,  where 

they  are  subjected  to  a  thorough  washing  by  means  of  pro- 
peller arms,  which  convey  them  from  one  end  of  the  washer  to  the  other, 
keeping  them  constantly  agitated.  When  thoroughly  cleaned  they  are 
ejected  by  means  of  an  automatic  device  and  fall  into  a  vertical  iron 
bucket  elevator,  which  carries  them  to  the  weighing  machine  on  the 
fourth  floor. 

AUTOMATIC     The  beet  scale  is  an  automatic  machine  which  weighs 

BEET   SCALE      7°°  or  I00°  P°utl(^s  at  a  time,  as  the  case  might  be, 

and  dumps  them  into  the  slicer,  while  at  the  same 

time  the  counter  of  the  scale  automatically  adds  up  all  quantities  weighed 
and  records  same.  No  mistakes  are  made  in  calculation,  and  it  is  abso- 
lutely impossible  for  any  of  the  working  men  to  tamper  with  the  record, 
the  counting  and  adding  mechanism  being  enclosed  in  a  locked  box. 

THE  SLICER  The  slicer  cuts  the  beets  into  triangular  pieces  about 
one-quarter  of  an  inch  wide,  one-sixteenth  inch  thick 
and  of  greater  or  less  length.  They  are  cut  iuto  such  shape  to  avoid  their 
laying  too  closely  together  as  to  prevent  the  circulation  of  the  diffusion 
liquors,  when  placed  in  the  cells  of  the  battery.  The  slicer  consists  of  a 
rapidly  revolving  disk,  about  three  feet  in  diameter,  which  is  provided 
with  a  set  of  knives,  cutting  a  large  number  of  slices  off  the  beets  at  every 
revolution. 

DIFFUSION  By  means  of  a  revolving  chute  the  fresh  beet  slices 
BATTERY  (technically  called  cossettes)  are  conveyed  into  the 
large  cylindrical  closed  tanks  or  cells  of  the  diffusion 
battery  on  the  floor  below.  These  cells  (each  holding  about  2  to  2^ 
tons)  are  arranged  in  a  circle  connected  by  piping  and  valves,  to  facilitate 

53 


filling  with  fresh  sliced  beets  and  discharging  the  pulp  or  slices  exhaust- 
ed of  sugar.  Each  cell  has  adjoining  it  a  socalled  "  heater"  filled  with 
brass  tubes  and  so  arranged  that  the  juice  may  be  heated  by  the  admis- 
sion of  steam,  without  bringing  it  in  contact  with  the  juice.  The  cells 
and  heaters  are  so  connected  by  piping  as  to  allow  of  water  and  juice 
being  admitted  to  any  individual  cell  or  being  circulated  through  them 
all.  It  is  in  the  diffusion  battery  that  the  sugar  held  in  solution  in  the 
cells  of  the  beets  is  extracted. 

The  object  of  the  diffusion  process  is  to  obtain  sugar  juice  contain- 
ing as  few  impurities  as  possible.     As  explained  in  a  preceding  chapter 


MICHIGAN   SUGAR    COMPANY  S    FACTORY,    BAY   CITY.    MICHIGAN. 
QUADRUPLE-EFFECT   CRYSTALUZER   AND   VACUUM. 

(Structure  of  the  Beet),  the  sugar  is  held  in  solution  in  the  cells  of  the 
beet,  but  these  cells  also  contain  the  impurities  (salts,  albuminoids,  etc.) 
and  whereas  it  is  only  the  crystallizable  bodies,  that  have  the  property 
of  diffusing  through  the  celltmembrane,  it  is  desirable  to  have  the  cells 
remain  intact  and  the  slicer  is  therefore  arranged  to  cut  the  beets  in  such 
a  form  as  to  rupture  as  few  cells  as  possible,  at  the  same  time  giving  as 
large  a  surface  as  possible  for  the  leaching,  i.  e.  the  action  of  the  hot 
water  resp.  diluted  juice  in  the  operation  on  the  diffusion  battery,  with- 
out preventing  rapid  circulation  of  the  diffusion  liquors.  Care  must  also 

54 


be  exercised  to  prevent  bursting  the  cells  by  overheating  during  the  pro- 
cess of  diffusion.  The  temperature  at  which  diffusion  takes  place  is  from 
70°  to  80°  C.,  158°  to  176°  Fah.,  according  quality  of  beet. 

By  the  methods  formerly  used,  the  beets  were  ground  into  a  fine 
pulp.  Thus  the  cells  were  torn  and  the  entire  contents  of  the  cells,  su- 
gar as  well  as  salts  and  other  impurities  carried  into  the  juice,  which 
was  obtained  from  the  pulp  either  by  pressing  by  means  of  hydraulic 
presses,  by  maceration  or  by  centrifrugal  force.  In  all  tnese  methods  of 
extracting  the  juice  a  great  deal  of  foreign  matter  was  obtained  outside 
of  sugar,  which  made  the  purification  of  the  juices  very  difficult  and 
hindered  the  manufacture. 

The  diffusion  method  now  generally  in  use,  differs  from  the  old  one 
in  that  the  juice  is  no  more  separated  in  a  mechanical,  but  in  a  purely 
physical  way.  The  hot  water  acting  upon  the  protoplasmic  lining  of 
the  sugar  cells,  will  allow  the  sugar  in  the  cell  to  diffuse  with  the  water 
outside,  until  the  water  outside  the  cell  contains  the  same  percentage  of 
sugar  as  that  on  the  inside.  This  water  being  drawn  off  and  replaced  by 
fresh  water  the  same  process  takes  place  and  could  be  continued  until  all 
the  sugar  had  been  extracted.  The  juice  so  obtained  would  of  course  be 
very  weak,  in  the  diffusion  battery  therefore  the  juice  obtained  in  the 
first  leaching  is  used  for  the  second,  etc. 

t 

THE  PROCESS  The  operation  is  proceeded  with  as  follows:  First 
Qp  DIFFUSION  one  ce^  *s  ^^e(^  with  fresh  cossettes  and  hot  water 
(at  80°  C)  admitted  till  the  cell  is  filled.  Assum- 
ing now,  that  the  beets  contain  12  per  cent,  of  sugar,  an  interchange 
takes  place,  the  cossettes  giving  up  their  sugar  until  only  6  per  cent,  re- 
mains, the  other  6  per  cent,  having  been  taken  up  by  the  water.  Meanwhile 
the  next  cell  has  been  filled  with  fresh  cossettes,  and  the  water  contain- 
ing 6  per  cent,  of  sugar  is  now  forced  into  it,  having  been  heated  in 
transit  to  80°  C.  In  this  second  cell  again  an  interchange  takes  place, 
but  the  water  containing  already  6  per  cent,  sugar,  will  extract  but  half 
of  the  difference  between  the  sugar  in  it  and  in  the  cossettes;  this  water 
will  now  contain  9  per  cent,  of  sugar  and  is  forced  into  the  third  cell, 
where  it  will  again  absorb  half  the  difference  between  its  own  sugar  and 
the  cossettes.  The  same  process  is  continued  until  the  water  has  become 
sufficiently  rich  in  sugar  for  evaporation.  In  the  meanwhile  fresh  water 
has  again  been  forced  into  the  first  cell,  from  there  into  the  second,  and 
so  on.  When  the  cossettes  in  the  first  cell  have  become  exhausted  of 
their  sugar  by  continued  passage  of  fresh  water,  the  contents  are  dis- 
charged through  a  trap  door  and  replaced  by  a  fresh  charge.  The  second 
cell  is  next  to  be  exhausted  and  recharged  in  its  turn  and  thus  every 
following  cell  continuously. 

55 


The  juice  now  passes  through  the  measuring  tank,  is  accurately 
measured  and  a  record  taken  of  time,  number  of  cell  and  density,  and  is 
then  ready  for  the  first  carbonation. 

CARBON ATION  The  Juice  as  il  comes  from  the  diffusion  battery 
PROCESS  is  a  dark,  ill-smelling  liquid,  when  it  passes 

into  the  first  carbonators,  large  closed  tanks  with 

valves  and  appliances  for  admitting  juice,  lime  and  carbonic  acid  gas. 
Slaked  lime  in  the  form  of  milk  of  lime  are  introduced  in  the  heated 
juice  for  the  purpose  of  having  the  lime  unite  with  the  impurities  in  the 
juice,  both  chemically  and  mechanically.  In  combining  with  the  greater 
part  of  the  impurities  this  lime  forms  an  insoluble  precipitate,  viz  :  car- 
bonate of  lime.  The  lime  also  combines  with  the  sugar  forming  a  suc- 
rate  of  lime.  In  order  to  free  this,  in  other  words  to  separate  the  lime 
and  sugar,  carbonic  acid  gas  is  injected.  This  is  done  by  allowing  the 
gas  to  bubble  through  the  limed  juice,  whereby  a  union  of  calcium  and 
carbonic  acid  gas  is  effected,  forming  Calcium  Carbonate.  Great  care 
must  be  taken  not  to  admit  more  gas  than  is  necessary  to  break  up  the 
combination  of  lime  and  sugar,  for  after  this  is  accomplished  the  carbonic 
acid  attacks  other  compounds  of  lime,  and  if  allowed  to  operate  too  long 
would  again  set  free  all  impurities.  The  process  must  therefore  be 
closely  watched  and  samples  taken  with  a  test  tube  every  few  seconds 
when  the  operation  'approaches  completion.  The  gas  is  instantly  shut 
off,  as  soon  as  by  the  formation  of  a  granular  precipitate,  showing  clear 
liquor  between  the  particles,  the  completion  of  the  process  has  been 
established. 

LIME  The  object  in  burning  the  limestone  in  the  factory  in  a  special- 
J£ILJsJ  ty  arranged  kiln,  instead  of  buying  the  prepared  lime,  is  to 
make  sure  of  fresh  burned  lime,  and  furthermore  to  secure  the 
carbonic  acid  gas,  which  is  needed  in  the  manufacturing  process,  as  well 
as  the  slaked  lime,  as  just  explained. 

PROCESS  OF  The  juice  from  the  carbonators  is  removed  and  forced 
FILTRATION  ky  means  °f  PumPs  at  a  pressure  of  60  Ibs.  per  square 
inch  through  filter  presses  consisting  of  a  series  of 
frames  and  screens  which  remove  the  precipitates  and  other  mechanical 
impurities.  The  purpose  of  the  frame,  a  hollow  iron  square,  is  to  receive 
and  hold  the  lime  precipitate.  After  being  forced  into  the  frames  of  the 
press,  the  juice  passes  through  a  finely  woven  cloth  filter  into  the  screen, 
and  from  there  the  filtered  juice  passes  through  a  cock  in  the  screen  to  a 
trough.  When  the  frames  are  completely  filled  with  lime  precipitate, 
the  flow  of  juice  into  the  presses  is  stopped.'  Hot  water  is  then  forced 
through  the  presses  to  wash  out  of  the  lime  cake  and  cloths  any  juice  left, 
the  press  is  then  opened  and  the  lime  cake  removed. 

56 


SECOND  The   Juice  and  tne   wash  water  from  the  filter 

CARBON ATION     Presses  *s  now  passed  in  a  second  set  of  carbona- 

tors  and  submitted  to  the  same  process  previously 

described,  however  very  little  lime  if  any  being  added.  The  carbonic 
acid  gas  is  passed  through  the  juice  until  only  a  trace  of  lime  remains  in 
it,  which  is  determined  by  testing.  In  order  to  precipitate  the  double 
carbonate  that  may  be  in  solution  the  juice  is  then  boiled  and  forced 
through  another  set  of  filter  presses. 


MICHIGAN   SUGAR   COMPANY'S  FACTORY,    BAY  CITY,    MICHIGAN, 
CRYSTALUZERS. 


SULPHURING  AND  The  clear  strained  juice  from  the  second  car- 
IVIECH  ANICAL  bonators,  which  is  then  of  a  light  straw  color 

PIT  TT?  ATTON  anc^  a^mos^  Pure>   i§  now  forced  by  pumps  to 

the  so-called  "  sulphiters,"    similarly    con- 

structed as  the  carbonators.  By  means  of  an  air  compressor  sulphurous 
acid  gas,  obtained  by  burning  sulphur  in  a  muffle,  is  forced  through  the 
juice,  decolorizing  it  and  precipitating  the  remainder  of  the  lime.  The 
gas  generator  has  two  compartments,  one  being  used  at  the  time,  so  as  to 
allow  of  cleaning  without  interrupting  the  process.  The  juice,  now  of  a 
water  white  color,  undergoes  another  filtering  in  mechanical  filters  (con- 
sisting of  iron  boxes,  provided  with  a  cover  for  removing  the  bags  on  the 

57 


inside)  whereby  any  mechanical  impurities  which  might  be  in  the  juice 
are  removed.  This  process  completes  the  purification  or  clarification  and 
the  now  pure  juice  is  passed  to  the  multiple  effect  evaporating  apparatus 
for  the  purpose  of  concentration. 

EVAPORATOR  Tins  evaporator  or  so-called  quadruple  effect 
OR  QUADRUPLE  consists  of  four  bodies,  each  containing  two 
EFFECT  sections  or  chambers ;  the  lower  or  steam 

chamber  for  the  steam  and  the  upper  chamber, 

occupying  about  two-thirds  of  the  space,  for  the  juice  and  the  vapors 
arising  from  the  boiling.  The  upper  or  vapor  chamber  of  each  effect  is 
connected  with  the  steam  chamber  of  the  next  effect,  so  that  vapors  of 
the  boiling  liquor  can  pass  from  one  steam  chamber  to  the  next.  The 
process  is  as  follows  :  Steam  is  turned  into  the  steam  chamber  of  the  first 
effect  and  boils  the  juice  in  that  effect,  the  vapors  arising  from  the  steam 
chamber  of  the  second  effect  go  over  and  boil  the  juice  in  the  third  effect 
and  so  on  until  the  boiling  process  goes  on  in  all.  By  means  of  a  vacuum 
pump  attached  to  the  condenser  of  the  fourth  effect  a  vacuum  of  different 
degree  is  created  in  each,  and  the  juice  can  readily  be  drawn  from  one 
to  the  other.  By  carrying  on  the  process  under  vacuum  loss  of  sugar  by 
excessive  heat  is  prevented.  When  the  juice  in  the  last  effect  has  reached 
the  required  point  of  density,  it  is  pumped  out  and  carried  over  to  the 
vacuum  pan,  where  it  is  boiled  to  a  grain. 

BOILING  TO  A     The  vacuum  pan  in  which  the  concentrated  juice 

QT?  A  TM  TJf/J'J'J-J       is  boiled  to  a  thick  crystallized  mass,  the  so-called 

•\/ A  pi  TT  jitTT  p  A  "M"     massecuite  consists  of  a  large  hollow  cylinder  made 

of  cast  iron  put  together  in  sections.     The  process 

of  boiling  is  conducted  as  follows  :  By  means  of  a  pump  vacuum  is  pro- 
duced, the  juice  is  drawn  into  a  certain  level  and  steam  is  admitted  into 
the  copper  coils  placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  pan  causing  the  juice  to  boil. 
As  soon  as  the  juice  has  boiled  down  to  a  certain  density  small  sugar 
grains  appear,  and  when  these  have  accumulated  in  sufficient  quantity 
more  juice  is  admitted.  This  addition  instead  of  starting  new  grains, 
deposits  upon  the  first.  The  process  of  admitting  fresh  juice  and  boiling 
down  is  continued  until  the  pan  is  full,  when  it  is  passed  into  the  mixer 
by  means  of  a  large  valve  situated  in  the  bottom. 

THE  MIXER  This  apparatus  consists  of  a  large  V-shaped  trough. 
A  shaft  runs  through  it  provided  with  arms  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  the  boiled  juice  or  so-called  "melada"  from  solidifying. 
This  boiled  juice  of  the  appearance  of  a  thick  paste,  passes  to  the  cen- 
trifugals directly  below,  through  short  spouts,  which  are  regulated  by 
means  of  a  tight  fitting  gate. 

58 


THE  A  charge  of  boiled  juice  of  about  200  Ibs.  is  ad- 

CENTRIFUGALS     mitte<^  into  tne  centrifugals  machine,  which  is 

set  revolving  at  the  rate  of  1,000  revolutions  per 

minute.  At  the  expiration  of  about  10  minutes,  the  molasses  is  thrown 
off  and  the  sugar  adhering  to  the  sides  of  the  centrifugal  removed.  Thus 
the  operation  is  completed  and  the  pure  white  sugar  now  left,  falls 
through  a  trap  door  situated  in  the  bottom  of  the  centrifugal  and  is  taken 
by  means  of  a  conveyor  to  the  dryer  or  granulator.  The  granulation 
consists  of  a  circular  shell  provided  with  steam  pipes  that  give  the  heat 
for  drying.  This  apparatus  is  slowly  revolving  and  small  shelves  attached 
to  its  interior  sides  cause  the  sugar  to  pass  through  its  entire  length  with- 
out staying  too  long  in  any  one  part,  thus  preventing  the  danger  of  burn- 
ing. After  the  slight  amount  of  moisture  is  thus  removed  the  sugar  falls 
down  a  shute  to  a  hopper  and  is  placed  in  bags  or  barrels  for  shipment. 

AFTER  The  syrup  or  molasses  obtained  from  the  first  product 

PRODUCTS  as  above  described  is  collected  in  tanks  and  when  a 
sufficient  quality  has  accumulated,  is  sent  back  and 
boiled  again  in  the  vacuum  pan  (so-called  second  pan),  but  not  boiled  to 
a  grain.  When  it  has  reached  the  desired  consistency,  it  is  run  into 
crystallizers  of  the  same  capacity  as  the  vacuum  pan,  which  consists  of 
large  boiler-shaped  vessels,  supplied  on  the  outside  with  a  water  jacket 
to  allow  of  cooling  when  necessary.  A  slowly  revolving  shaft  on  the 
inside,  provided  with  arms  keeps  the  mass  air  in  constant  motion, 
whereby  the  cooling  is  affected.  By  this  process  a  brown  sugar  the  so- 
called  second  product  is  obtained. 

The  syrup  or  drains  left  from  this  operation  are  again  sent  back  and 
reboiled  in  the  vacuum  pan,  and  run  into  crystallizers,  whence  they 
emerge  as  brown  sugar,  the  so-called  third  product. 

All  this  brown  sugar,  which  is  very  unpalatable,  is  melted  in  a  mixer 
and  worked  in  with  the  green  juice  in  the  first  pan.  The  molasses  now 
left  is  of  a  very  low  grade  and  in  most  instances  is  allowed  to  go  to  the 
sewer  or  is  run  into  the  pulp.  It  might  be  used  for  vinegar  or  blacking. 
Some  factories,  when  finding  on  analysis,  that-  the  molasses  contains 
sugar  that  will  crystallize,  store  it  in  tanks  and  let  it  remain  there  until 
the  next  season,  when  such  sugar  as  has  settled  to  the  bottom  is  taken  out 
and  worked  over.  The  molasses  in  question  amounts  to  about  3  to  4  per 
cent,  of  the  sugar  content  of  the  beet.  By  certain  additional  installa- 
tions, representing  different  processes,  such  as  the  Osmose,  Ransom, 
Strontian  processes,  Steffen  and  others,  part  of  the  sugar  can  be  recoverd. 

PULP      A  vexing  problem  which  has  confronted  many  factories  in  the 
past  was,  what  to  do  with  the  pulp,  which  amounts  to  about 
50  per  cent,  of  the  tonnage  of  beets  worked  up  in  a  factory.     Our  farm- 
ers are  just  now  beginning  to  appreciate  the  value  of  this  pulp  as  a  stock 

59 


food.  Experiments  along  the  line  have  shown  that  for  fattening  hogs 
and  cattle,  feeding  lambs  and  the  dairy  cow,  this  pulp  offers  a  valuable 
and  cheap  food.  At  one  dollar  a  ton  it  would  be  cheap,  and  in  such  parts 
of  the  country  where  there  are  large  dairy  or  stock  feeding  industries  the 
factories  have  found  no  difficulty  of  disposing  of  the  pulp  at  from  35  cents 
to  $1.00  par  ton,  the  farmers  furnishing  the  beets  to  the  factory  as  a 
rule  being  glad  to  take  such  share  as  represented  by  the  total  of  their 
beet  deliveries  at  an  agreed  upon  price  to  be  deducted  from  the  price  they 
received  for  the  beets.  This  pulp  may  be  siloed  with  a  sprinkling  of 
salt  and  loses  none  of  its  virtue  for  a  couple  of  years  after  it  is  siloed.  It 
has  been  claimed  on  basis  of  tests  that  better  results  are  obtained  from 
siloed  pulp  than  from  the  fresh  pulp,  i.  e.  when  fed  coming  direct  from 
the  mill ;  furthermore  that  such  pulp  fed  to  cattle  makes  a  firmer,  ten- 
derer and  better  colored  beef.  The  value  for  the  dairy  may  be  better  un- 
derstood from  the  following  figures  :  Calculating  the  value  on  a  basis  of 
units  of  feeding  value,  allowing  three  units  for  proteine,  two  units  for 
fatty  substances  and  one  unit  for  substances  free  from  nitrogen,  this  pulp 
would  represent  44  units  of  feeding  value. 

COST  OF  A  It  is  impossible  to  give  anything  more  than  a 

BEET  ROOT  rough  estimate  of  the  cost  of  building,  equip- 

SUGAR  FACTORY  ping  and  °Peratin£  a  beet  suSar  factory,  ap- 
plicable to  all  sections  of  our  country.  In  the 

previous  chapter  we  have  already  mentioned  the  main  requisites  or  con- 
ditions necessary  for  the  success  of  a  factory,  such  as  materials,  labor, 
etc.  All  these  conditions,  which  of  course  vary  widely  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  govern  the  cost  of  the  plant  in  the  first  place.  Then  it 
would  depend  to  some  extent  on  the  character  of  the  buildings,  whether 
fire  proof  or  part  fire  proof,  or  not,  the  capacity  of  the  house,  etc. 

Approximately  the  cost  of  a  sugar  house  of  a  capacity  of  not  less 
than  350  tons,  will  amount  to  $1,000  for  each  ton  of  daily  capacity,  in 
other  word  a  factory  of  350  tons  capacity  would  cost  about  $350,000.  At 
less  than  300  tons  capacity  the  cost  would  exceed  the  $1,000  per  ton. 

The  Fred.  W.  Wolf  Co.  will  be  glad  at  any  time  to  give  closely  fig- 
ured estimates  for  erecting  factories  in  any  part  of  the  United  States  after 
having  investigated  the  location.  We  frequently  have  occasion  to  reply 
to  inquiries  from  people  who  are  under  the  impression  that  with  an  old 
building,  a  second-hand  boiler  and  engine  and  worn  out  apparatus  and 
appliances  that  have  been  used  for  other  purposes,  they  have  a  good  nu- 
cleus for  a  beet  sugar  factory,  and  that  with  a  comparatively  small 
additional  outlay  such  a  plant  would  give  satisfactory  results.  There  is 
no  more  mistaken  notion  than  this.  Any  attempt  of  this  kind  is  in  our 
opinion  simply  that  much  money  thrown  away.  Not  one  of  the  various 
enterprizes  that  were  started  on  such  a  basis  but  proved  a  deplorable 
failure. 

60 


An  old  building  might  possibly  be  adapted  to  sugar  factory  purposes 
but  the  small  saving  in  the  first  cost  would  likely  soon  be  eaten  up  by 
the  increased  expense  of  operating  such  a  plant,  resulting  from  the  ne- 
cessity of  adapting  the  arrangement  of  the  apparatus  to  the  structure. 
In  order  to  build  economically  and  insure  profitable  operation  a  sugar 
factory  must  be  built  with  this  special  purpose  in  view. 

A  priori  we  want  to  say,  and  in  the  most  emphatic  manner,  that  it 
would  be  rank  foolishnes  to  go  in  the  beet  sugar  business  without  ample 
means  to  erect  a  factory  of  proper /size  as  well  as  of  the  most  modern 
construction  both  as  regards  building  and  machinery. 


MICHIGAN   SUGAR    COMPANY'S    FACTORY,    BAY    CITY,    MICHIGAN. 
ELECTRIC   PLANT. 


COST  OF  SUGAR  The  cost  of  the  sugar  and  the  profit  to  the 
AND  PROFIT  factory  depend  on  the  conditions  already 

CALCULATION  partly  discussed  under  the  heading  "Factory 

requirement,"  the  amount  of  material  used, 

price  of  beets  and  wages  paid.  Fuel,  limestone  and  wages  are  the  three 
principal  expense  items  in  a  sugar  factory,  and  run  about  as  follows 
per  ton  of  beets  : 

61 


Cents  per  ton 

of  Beets. 

Coal  (basis  8-fold  evaporating  power)  12  per  cent.,  at  $3  00  per  ton,  ...  36 
Limestone  (basis  95  per  cent,  of  pure  lime)  10  per  cent.,  at  $1.60  per  ton,  .  16 
Wages  (basis  full  season  of  100  days)  160  hands  at  $2  50  average  wages,  .  80 

In  a  factory  of  a  daily  capacity  of  500  tons,  where  coal  or  limestone 
or  wages  would  be  25  or  50  per  cent,  higher,  the  expenses  during  a  season 
would  be  increased  in  the  following  amounts  : 

2-=>  per  Cent  50  per  Cent. 

Coal, $  4,500  $  9,000 

Limestone, 2,000  4,000 

Wages,     ..........       10,000  20,000 

A  difference  of  i  ^  per  cent  in  the  quality  of  the  beets,  that  is 
to  say,  the  real  outturn  of  granulated  would  make  a  difference  of  ten 
pounds  of  sugar  per  ton  of  beets,  or  (on  basis  of  a  price  of  5  cents  per 
pound)  $25,000  per  season. 

From  this  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  factor  which  mainly  deter- 
mines the  cost  of  the  sugar  is  a  full  supply  of  beets  of  good  quality.  The 
total  daily  average  expenses  per  ton  of  beets  may  be  calculated  as 
follow^: 

Per  Ton  of  Beets. 

Beets,  at  $4.00  per  ton $4.00 

Coal,  12#  at  $3.00  per  ton 36 

Limestone,  10$  at  $1.60  per  ton 16 

Wages,  at  $2.50 80 

Coke  and    other  materials,    such  as  chemicals, 

lubricants,  etc .75 

$6.07 

Making  for  50,000  tons  worked  up  in  a  season  of 

100  days $303,500 

To  which  would  have  to  be  added  the  gem-ral  or 
annual  expenses  for  office,  selling  and  travel- 
ling expenses,  insurance,  repairs,  stationary 
and  incidentals,  in  round  figures 50,000 

Total |353,500 

On  an  outturn  of  say  10$,  or  10,000,000  pounds  of 
granulated  the  factory  would  receive  at  an 
average  net  price  of  5  cents  per  pound  .  .  .  $500,000 

Adding  to  this  the  value  of  pulp  and  molasses  at 

say,  50  cents  per  ton 25,000 

Total  receipts  would  amount  to $525,000 

Less  total  expense  as  above 353,500 

Profit $171,500 

The  following  tables  will  show  the  profits  per  season,  also  the  differ- 
ence in  cost  per  pound  of  granulated  sugar,  according  to  yield  and 
quantity. 

62 


Yield  per 
ton,Beets 

7^^=150  Ibi. 

8$=  160  Ibs. 

8^^=170  Ibs. 

9^=180  lb». 

9^#=190  Ibs. 

ll 

•s  S. 

00    -<S 

^i 

& 

Cost  of  1 
Ib.  Gran- 
ulated. 

Profit  per 
Season. 

Cost  of  1 
Ib.  Gran- 
ulated. 

Centi. 

Profit  per 
Season. 

Cost  of  1 
Ib.  Gran- 
ulated. 

Profit  per 
Season. 

Cost  of  I 
Ib.  Gran- 
nlated. 

Profit  per 
Season. 

Cost  of  1 
Ib.  Gran- 
ulated. 

Profit  per 

Sea«nii. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

350 

4.67 

17.550 

4.38 

35.050 

4.12 

52.550 

3.89 

70.050 

3.70 

TeiT 

87.550 

400 

4.55 

27.200 

4.26 

47.200 

4.01 

67.200 

3.79 

87.200 

107.200 

450 

4.45 

36.850 

4.17 

59.350 

3.93 

81.850 

3.73 

104.350 

3.52 

126.850 

500 

4.38 

46.500 

4.11 

71.500 

3.86 

96.500 

3.65 

121.500 

3.45 

146.500 

550 

4.32 

56.150 

4.05 

83.650 

3.81 

111.150 

3.59 

138.650 

3.40 

166.150 

600 

4.27 

65.800 

4.00 

95.800 

3.76 

125.800 

3.54 

155.800 

3.37 

185.800 

650 

4.22 

75.450 

3.96 

107.950 

3.73 

140.450 

3.52 

172.950 

3.34 

205.450 

700 

4.19 

85.100 

3.92 

120.100 

3.70 

155.100 

3.49 

190.100 

3.30 

225.100 

750 

4.16 

94.750 

3.89 

132.250 

3.67 

169.750 

3.46 

207.250 

3.28 

244.750 

800 

4.13 

104.400 

3.87 

144.400 

3.64 

184.400 

3.44 

224.400 

3.26 

264.400 

850 

4.11 

114.050 

3.85 

156.550 

3.62 

199.050 

3.42 

241.550 

3.24 
3!,23" 

284.050 

900 

4.08 

123.700 

3.82 

168.700 

3.60 

213.700 

3.40 

258  700 

303.700 

950 

4.06 

133.350 

3.81 

180.850. 

3.58 

228.350 

3.38 

275.850 

3.21 

323.350 

1000 

4.04 

143.000 

3.80 

193.000 

3  57 

243.000 

3.37 

293.000 

3.20 

343.000 

1050 

4.03 

152.650 

3.78 

205.150 

3.56 

257.650 

3.36 

310.150 

3.19 

362.650 
"382.300 

1100 

4.01 

162.300 

3.76 

217.300 

3.55 

272.300 

3.35 

327.300 

3.17 

1150 

4.00 

171.950 

3.75 

229.450 

3.54 

286.950 

3.34 

344.450 

3.16 

401.950 

1200 

3.99 

181.600 

3.74 

241.600 

3.52 

301.600 

3.33 

361.600 

3.15 

421.600 

1250 

3.98 

191.250 

3.73 

253.750 

3.51 

316.250 

3.32 

378.750 

3.14 

441.250 

1300 

3.97 

200.900 

3.72 

265.900 

3.50 

330.900 

3.31 

395.900 

3.13 

460.900 

1400 

TsocT 

3.95 

220.200 

3.70 

290.200 

3.48 

360.200 

3.30 

430.200 

3.12 

500.200 

3.93 

239.500 

3.69 

314.500 

3.47 

389.500 

3.28 

464.500 

3.11 

539.500 

1600 

3.92 

258.800 

3.68 

338.800 

3.46 

418.800 

3.27 

498.800 

3.10 

578.800 

1700 

3.91 

278.100 

3.67 

363.100 

3.45 

448.100 

3.26 

533.100 

3.09 

618.100 

1800 

3.90 

297.400 

3.66 

387.400 

3.44 

477.400 

3.25 

567.400 

3.08 

657.400 

1900 

3.89 

316.700 

3.65 

411.700 

3.43 

506.700 

3.24 

601.700 

3.07      696.700 

2000 

3.88 

336.000 

3.64 

436.000 

3.42 

536.000 

3.23 

636.000 

3.06     736.000 

63 


Yield  per 
ton,  Beets 

10^rr200  Ibs. 

10>^=210  Ibs. 

11^=220  Ibs. 

ll#*=230ibs. 

12^=240  Ibs. 

s  i 
J^ 

•o    S. 

'1 

Cost  of  1 
b.  Gran- 
ulated. 

Profit  per 
Season. 

Cost  of  1 
Ib.  Gran- 
ulated. 

Profit  per 
Season. 

)OBt  Of  1 

b.  Gran- 
ulated. 

Profit  per 
Season. 

Cost  of  1 
Ib.  Gran- 
ulated. 

Profit  per 
Season. 

Cost  of  I 
Ib.  Gran- 
nltted. 

Profit  per 
Season. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

350 

3.50 

105.050 

3.34 

122.550 

3.20 

140.050 

3.04 

157.550 

2.92 

175.050 

400 
450 

3.41 

127.200 

3.25 

147.200 

3.10 

167.200 

2.95 

187.200 

2.84 

207.200 

3.34 

149.350 

3.19 

171.850 

3.03 

194.350 

2.90 

216.850 

2.78 

239.350 

500 

3.29 

171.500 

3.14 

196.500 

2.99 

221.500 

2.86 

246.500 

2.74 

271.500 

550 

3.24 

193.650 

3.09 

221.150 

2.95 

248.650 

2.82 

276.150 

2.71 

303.650 

600 

3.20 

215.800 

3.05 

245.800 

2.91 

275.800 

2.78 

305.800 

2.67 

335.800 

650 

3.17 

237.950 

3.02 

270.450 

2.88 

302.950 

2.76 

335.450 

2.64 

367.950 

700 

3.14 

260.100 

2.99 

295.100 

2.86 

330.100 

2.74 

365.100 

2.62 

400.100 

750 

3.12 

282.250 

2.97 
~$T95~ 

319.750 

2.84 

357.250 

2.72 

394.750 

2.60 

432.250 

800 

3.10 

304.400 

344.400 

2.82 

384.400 

2.70 

424.400 

2.58 

464.400 

850 

3.08 

326.550 

2.93 

369.050 

2.80 

411.550 

2.68 

454.050 

2.56 

496.550 

900 

3.06 

348.700 

2.92 

393.700 

2  78 

438.700 

2.66 

483.700 

a.  55 

528.700 

950 

3.05 

370.850 

2.90 

418.350 

2.77 

465.850 

2.65 

513.350 

2.54 

560.850 

1000 

3.04 

393.000 

2.89 

443.000 

2.76 

493.000 

2.64 

543.000 

2.53 

593.000 

1050 

3.02 

415.150 

2.88 

467.650 

2.75 

520.150 

2.63 

572.650 

2.52 

625.150 

1100 

3.01 

437.300 

2.87 

492.300 

2.74 

547.300 

2.62 

602.300 

2.51 

657.300 
689.450 

1150 

3.00 

459.450 

2.86 
T85~ 

516.950 

2.73 

574.450 

2.61 

631.950 

2.50 

1200 

2.99 

481.600 

541.600 

2.72 

601.600 

2.60 

661.600 

2.49 

721.600 

1250 

2.98 

503.750 

2.84 

566.250 

2.71 

628.750 

2.59 

691.250 

2.49 

753.750 

1300 

2.98 

525.900 

2.83 

590.900 

2.70 

655.900 

2.59 

720.900 

2.48 

785.900 

1400 

2.96 

570.200 

2.83 

640.200 

2.69 

710.200 

2.58 

780.200 

2.47 

850.200 
914.500 

1500 

2.95 

614.500 

2.82 

689.500 

2.68 

764.500 

2.57 

839.500 

2.46 

1600 

2.94 

658.800 

2.81 

738.800 

2.67 

818.800 

2.56 

898.800 

2.45 

978.800 

1700 

2.93 

703.100 

2.80 

788.100 

2.67 

873.100 

2.56 

958  100 

2.45 

1,043.100 

1800 

2.92 

747.400 

2.79 

837.400 

2.66 

927.400 

2.55 

1,017.400 

2.44 

1,107.400 

1900 

2.92 

791.700 

2.78 

886.700 

2.66 

981.700 

2.54 

1,076.700 

2.43 

1,171.700 

2000 

2.91 

836.000 

2.77 

936.000 

2.65 

1,036.000 

2.53 

1,136.000 

2.42 

1,236.000 

64 


In  all  of  the  foregoing  calculations  the  general  expenses  have  been 
calculated  at  $50,000  regardless  of  the  quantity  of  beets  worked  per  sea- 
son, for  the  reason  that  this  expense  item  does  not  fluctuate  to  any 
extent  in  relation  to  the  quantity  of  beets. 

The  value  of  the  residue  in  pulps  and  molasses  viz:  1200  Ibs.  of  pulp 
and  20  Ibs.  of  molasses,  has  been  calculated  at  50  cents  per  ton  of  beets, 
which  is  considerable  less  than  actual  value,  as  shown  in  previous 
chapters. 

The  price  of  beets,  $4.00  per  ton,  represents  the  average  price  gen- 
erally paid  by  our  factories.  The  other  daily  expense  items  for  materials 
and  labor,  will  in  most  cases  be  found  below  our  figures. 

The  price  of  coal  varies  greatly  in  the  different  states,  but  the  figure 
of  $3.00,  taken  as  basis  for  our  calculation,  is  rather  above  the  average. 
The  amount  of  coal  consumed  is  by  far  a  more  important  factor  than  the 
price  of  coal.  As  already  referred  to  in  a  previous  chapter,  in  modern 
European  factories  75  Ibs.  of  steam  per  100  Ibs.  granulated  is  not  an  un- 
frequent  figure.  This  means  that  with  coal  of  7,000  to  7,500  calories  or 
about  eight  fold  evaporating  power,  the  consumption  amounts  to  only 
about  9  per  cent,  coal  per  ton  of  beets. 

Hence,  if  as  has  been  the  case  in  some  factories  in  this  country,  23 
per  cent,  of  coal  are  used,  this  means  a  difference  of  14  per  cent,  or  7,000 
tons;  in  other  words,  at  $3.00  per  ton,  $21,000  worth  of  coal  would  be 
needlessly  burned  up.  This  difference  amounts  to  21/100,  or  say  1/5 
cent  for  pound  of  granulated  sugar  just  for  the  item  "Coal."  It  will 
therefore  be  seen,  that  the  amount  of  coal  consumed  cuts  a  much  more 
important  figure,  than  the  factor  "price  of  coal,"  since  an  increase  in 
the  price  of  coal  of  $1.00  per  ton,  would  increase  the  cost  of  production 
only  6/1000  cent  per  Ib.  granulated. 

Of  course  just  as  much  depends  on  the  quality  of  the  coal,  than  the 
boiler  plant  and  evaporating  apparatus,  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  way 
they  are  run. 

As  regards  wages,  the  figure  of  $2.50,  taken  as  average  wages,  is 
certainly  higher  than  in  most  localities.  Every  quarter  of  a  dollar  more 
or  less  in  average  wages  represents  an  additional  or  reduced  expenditure 
of  $4,000  for  season,  or  T£¥  cent  per  pound  of  granulated  sugar. 

From  the  foregoing  tables  it  will  be  seen,  that  a  factory  working  up 
annually  50,000  tons  of  beets,  yielding  200  pounds  of  granulated  sugar 
from  each  ton  of  beets,  can  produce  such  white  granulated  sugar  at  a  cost 
of  3.29  cents  per  Ib.  There  are  factories  in  the  U.  S.  who  have  obtained 
240  Ibs.  and  even  more  of  sugar  from  each  ton  of  beets,  because  the  beets 
were  exceptionally  rich  in  sugar  and  furthermore  owing  to  expert  and 
competent  management. 

In  some  states  a  bounty  is  granted  to  the  beet  sugar  factories  which 
of  course  correspondingly  increases  the  profit,  But  as  the  foregoing 

65 


figures  and  the  experience  of  the  factories  in  such  states  as  have  no 
bounty  law  conclusively  proves,  the  beet  sugar  industry  is  not  dependent 
on  such  state  aid,  which  at  best  can  only  by  temporary. 

CONCLUDING   REMARKS     A  discussion  of  the  subject  of  these 

pages   from    a    national    economic 

standpoint  would  lead  beyond  their  scope.  We  have  already  alluded  to 
the  large  profits  accruing  to  the  farming,  dairy  and  meat  interests,  the 
manufacturers,  the  capitalists  and  all  the  trades  directly  and  indirectly 
benefited  by  the  culture  of  beets  and  the  manufacture  of  sugar,  likewise 
to  the  effect  of  the  industry  on  land  values.  The  following,  showing  the 
average  disbursements  of  a  5oo-tons  capacity  beet  sugar  factory  during 
one  season,  illustrates  the  importance  of  the  industry  : 

Amount  paid  to  the  farmers  for  beets $200,000 

Freight  paid  by  farmers  to  R.  R.  companies  ....  15,000 

Freight  paid  by  factories  to  R.  R.  companies      .     .     .  30,000 

Coal 18,000 

Limestone 8,000 

Coke  and  other  materials 37,500 

Wages 40,000 

Salaries,  commission  for  selling  and  other  expenses     .  50,000 

In  conclusion  we  repeat,  that  wherever  beets  of  good  quality,  say 
testing  12  per  cent,  of  sugar,  with  a  purity  co-efficient  of  75  per  cent,  and 
upward  can  be  raised  in  sufficient  quantities,  it  will  pay  well  to  erect 
factories.  The  advantages  which  must  accrue  to  the  farmer  as  well  as 
to  the  factory  owners,  as  set  forth  in  the  preceding  pages  are  so  obvious, 
that  it  is  to  be  hoped  and  expected,  that  the  industry  will  make  rapid 
progress  in  our  country  in  the  near  future. 

FINIS. 


66 


List  of  Illustrations 


Page 

FRED  W.  WOLF,  President           .....  2 

FRED  W.  WoivF  Co.'s  WORKS           .  3 
SUGAR  FACTORIES  : 

Detroit  Sugar  Co.'s  Factory,  Rochester,  Mich.— 

Front  View    ......  6 

Rear  View            .                                          .  .          16 
Interior  View,  North  End       .                                          .19 

Interior  View,  South  End                           .  .         20 

Vacuum  Pan  Floor     .                            ...  31 

Kalamazoo  Beet  Sugar  Co.'s  Factory,  Kalamazoo,  Mich.— 

In  course  of  erection                      .  14 
Michigan  Sugar  Co.'s  Factory,  Bay  City,  Mich.— 

Front  View                         ...                        .  .           8 

Rear  View      .                                        , .  10 

Side  View — Lime  Kiln     .  .12 

Interior  View              .                                         .  43 

Unloading  Beets  into  Sheds                                      .  .         29 

Carbonating  Tanks,  Etc.      ^  .              .              .              .  48 

Diffusion  Battery                            .                            .  46 

Crystalizers                  ...  59 

Electric  Plant      .              .              .              .              .  .61 

Filter  Presses               ...  51 
Quadruple  Effect,  Etc.     .....         54 

SUGAR  BEETS : 
Varieties — 

Vilmorin,  Le  plus  riche           ...  22 

Kleinwanzlebener             .              .             ..    %  .23 

Vilmorin         ...  .23 

Cross  Section  of  Sugar  Beet                 .              .  24 

Position  of  Beet  in  Soil     .  25 

Improperly  Raised  Beets                       .  •   26-27 

Improperly  Capped  Beets                .  39 

Properly  Capped  Beet              ....  .         39 


67 


Table  of  Contents* 


PAGE 

PREFACE        .  -  5 

Part  L 

HISTORY  OF  THE  INDUSTRY. 

General  History  of  Beet  Sugar  7 

History  in  the  United  States  1 3 

Part  IL 

THE  CULTURE  OF  THE  SUGAR  BEET. 

General  Remarks      ....  .22 
Structure  of  the  Beet            ....  24 

Size  of  Beets  ...  .24 

Soil  and  Climatic  Conditions         .         .  ...  25 

Area  to  be  Alloted  to  Beet  Culture 28 

Rotative  System  ».  ...  28 

Fertilization  ....  -3° 

Cultivating  the  Soil .  32 

Plowing  .......  32 

Preparing  the  Seed  Bed        ....  ,  33 

Sugar  Beet  Seed -33 

Planting  the  Seed 35 

Cultivating  the  Beet         .         .         .  - 35 

Width  of  Rows  37 

Tonnage  Per  Acre  .         .  -37 

Maturing  of  the  Beet  .  .  38 

Harvesting       .  •       38 
Topping                 .  39 

Pitting — Siloing       ...  .40 
Coat  of  Growing  Beets         .....  40 

Profit  of  Beet  Growing  ....  41 

Part  IIL 

THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  BEET  SUGAR. 

General  Remarks         .  •       42 
Factory  Requirements       .          .  42 

Factory  Site 43 

68 


Beet  Supply  .  .. 

Quality  Requirements  ... 

Purity  Co-efficient  .... 

Water  Supply  .  . 

Fuel,  Coal,   Cokes,  Etc.  . 

Limestone  ..... 

Labor      ....... 

Transportation  Facilities       ... 
Market  Facilities  .... 

The  Factory  and  its  Internal  Arrangement 
Process  of  Manufacturing  Sugar         .. 
Wash-house         ... 
Automatic  Beet  Scales  .          . 

The  Slicer 
Diffusion  Battery      ...  . 

Process  of  Diffusion     .          .          .          . 

Carbonation  Process         .  .. 

Lime  Kiln  .  ... 

Process  of  Filtration          .... 

Second  Carbonation      .          .          .          . 

Sulphuring      ...... 

Mechanical  Filtration  .          .          . 

Quadruple  Effect      ..... 

Boiling  to  a  Grain        .... 

Vacuum  Pan  ..... 

Mixer          ...... 

Centrifugals  .          .          .          ,          . 

After  Products 

Pulp       . 

Cost  of  Beet  Sugar  Factory  .. 

Cost  of  Sugar  ..... 

Profit  Calculation         .          .          .          . 

Concluding  Remarks         .... 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS        . 

TABLE  OF  CONTENTS         .... 

PRESS  COMMENTS  ...         .. 


43 
44 
45 
45 
47 
48 
50 
50 
50 

51 

53 

53 
53 
53 
53 

55 
56 
56 
56 

57 
57 

57 
58 
58 
58 
58 
59 
59 
59 
60 
61 
61 
66 

67 
68 
70 


69 


Press  Comments* 


On  Factories  Built  by  the  Fred  W.  Wolf  Co. 

From  a  correspondent  in  Michigan  the  PLANTER  learns  that  the 
Michigan  Sugar  Co.,  at  Bay  City,  Mich.,  started  its  second  campaign 
October  4,  and  that  of  the  nine  factories  in  operation  in  Michigan  this 
year  the  Michigan  Sugar  Co.  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  to  make 
sugar.  Our  correspondent  says  further  that  the  daily  capacity  of  the 
factory  has  been  enlarged  to  500  tons  and  that  an  exceptionally  successful 
campaign  is  anticipated.  Some  of  the  new  factories  will  have  but  a  short 
run  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  beets. — Louisiana  Planter  Oct.  14.,  1899. 

The  beet  sugar  factory  which  is  located  here  and  is  just  completed 
by  the  contractors,  Messrs.  Fred  W.  Wolf  &  Co.,  of  Chicago,  for  the 
Oakland  Sugar  Company,  is  about  to  begin  operation.  All  of  the 
machinery  is  up  and  testing  it  with  steam  is  now  going  on.  The  masons 
and  concrete  contractors  still  have  some  work  to  do,  but  by  the  26th  of 
October  everything  will  be  ready,  and  that  is  the  day  set  to  commence 
operations. 

The  factory  as  it  stands  comprises  a  four-story  building  of  brick  and 
steel,  with  arched  concrete  flooring,  three  beet  sheds  400  feet  long  and  90 
feet  wide,  all  under  one  roof. 

The  machinery  will  have  a  capacity  of  about  500  tons  of  beets  per 
day  and  comprises  two  beet  washers,  two  cutters  and  a  battery  of  14 
cells,  each  holding  2^  tons  of  beets,  eight  carbonating  tanks,  two  lime 
kilns,  10  filter  presses  of  900  square  feet  of  filtering  surface  each,  two 
sulphur  boxes,  10  mechanical  filter  presses,  one  quadruple  effect  of  the 
standard  style  with  5,000  square  feet  of  heating  surface  in  each  pan,  two 
vaccuum  pans  n  feet  each  in  diameter,  14  crystallizers,  each  holding  864 
cubic  feet  of  masse  cuite,  or  the  contents  of  the  pan,  10  forty -inch  cen- 
trifugal machines,  one  granulator,  shakers  and  conveyors,  six  upright 
boilers  of  250  horse  power  each,  with  Dutch  ovens  in  front,  two  Corliss 
engines  of  200  horse  power  each  will  supply  all  the  power  needed. 

All  the  machinery,  with  the  exception  of  the  boilers,  pans,  multiple 
effects,  centrifugals  and  pumps  were  made  in  Chicago  by  the  contractor. 
The  pumps  are  all  of  the  Marsh  make  of  Battle  Creek,  Mich. — Rochester 
Correspondence  of  the  Louisiana  Planter  Oct.  16,  1899. 

The  first  strike  of  sugar  was  made  Sunday  and  another  to-day,  which 
classed  as  first  class  granulated  sugar,  something  unusual  for  a  new  factory  to 
do,  as  invariably  the  first  strikes  are  melted  up  again,  being  full  of  specks 
and  of  off  color. — Rochester  Correspondence  of  the  Louisiana  Planter  Nov. 
5,  1899. 

70 


Representatives  of  THE  MICHIGAN  SUGAR  BEET,  through  the  cour- 
tesy of  President  Cranage,  and  piloted  by  Mr.  Sam  Cranage,  paid  the 
pioneer  institution  a  visit  during  the  week  and  witnessed  this  grand 
transformation. 

The  company  is  receiving  on  an  average  200  loads  of  beets  per  day, 
averaging  500  tons,  and  is  paying  out  to  the  farmers  about  $2,500  per 
day.  The  crop  for  this  company,  which  is  the  first  to  receive  beets,  is 
averaging  12  tons  per  acre,  and  the  price  paid  is  in  the  neighborhood  of 
$4.75  per  ton,  a  little  better  than  the  average  for  last  season.  While  the 
tonnage  is  somewhat  less  than  that  of  last  season,  the  sugar  content  is 
about  2  per  cent,  higher,  which  gives  the  farmer  about  as  much  as  he  re- 
ceived last  season  for  his  crop.  »  . 

Up  to  the  time  of  our  visit  the  factory  had  turned  out  3  carloads  of 
sugar  each  day  it  had  been  in  operation,  and  the  products  had  found 
ready  sale. 

At  the  Michigan  factory  about  125  men  are  employed,  and  70  tons 
of  Bay  county  coal  consumed  each  day. 

The  company  has  4,200  acres  under  contract,  and  will  pay  out  nearly 
$250,000  to  farmers.  This  company's  contracts  are  very  largely,  this 
season,  with  the  farmers  of  Bay  county. 

A  new  office  and  storeroom  are  about  completed.  The  office  will  be 
very  complete,  and  is  of  attractive  architectural  design  and  will  be  ar- 
ranged in  the  most  convenient  form. 

President  Cranage  anticipates  a  most  successful  campaign,  and 
judging  from  the  manner  in  which  his  contractors  are  being  treated,  and 
express  themselves,  the  company  will  be  obliged  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to 
many  who  will  seek  contracts  when  the  books  are  opened  for  another 
season. — Michigan  Sugar  Beet,  Nov.  j,  1899. 

The  factory  of  the  Michigan  Sugar  Company  at  Bay  City  is  running 
along  smoothly,  consuming  500  tons  of  beets  per  day,  and  with  a  daily 
output  of  three  carloads  of  high  grade  sugars.  Owing  to  the  higher 
sugar  content  of  the  beets  this  year,  the  company  is  paying  about  $4.75 
per  ton  of  beets,  against  $4. 50  last  year,  but  the  increase  in  price  to  the 
farmers  is  offset  by  a  reduced  tonnage. — Louisiana  Planter,  Nov.  14, 1899. 

Few  if  any  lines  of  domestic  industry  are  more  promising  than  that 
of  the  beet  sugar  factories,  which  are  springing  up  in  all  parts  of  the 
West.  They  cost  from  $250,000  to  a  considerably  higher  amount  and  the 
amount  of  machinery  that  is  required  to  equip  a  plant  of  this  kind  is 
enormous.  It  is  giving  to  the  machinery  men  one  of  their  present  best 
markets. 

Many  people  have  never  seen  one  of  these  large  new  American 
industries,  The  beet  sugar  factory  which  has  recently  been  erected  by 
the  Oakland  Sugar  Mills  Company  at  Rochester,  Mich,,  is  perhaps  th* 
best  equipped  beet  sugar  factory  in  the  country  and  the  designers,  architects 

71 


and  builders  are  the  Fred  W.  Wolf  Company,  139-143  Rees  street, 
Chicago,  who  are  also  just  completing  a  5oo-ton  beet  sugar  factory  for 
the  Kalamazoo  Sugar  Company,  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  which  is  almost  an 
exact  duplicate  of  the  Rochester  plant. 

The  Fred  W.  Wolf  Company  has  just  completed  improvements  on 
their  shop,  consisting  of  a  new  erecting  and  machine  shop,  and  pattern, 
storage,  warehouse  and  office  addition,  thereby  more  than  doubling  their 
1898  capacity.  The  company  is  enjoying  a  rushing  trade  with  an  out- 
look for  an  exceedingly  prosperous  new  year's  business.  In  the  ice 
machine  business  the  company  has  recently  received  a  large  number  of 
orders.  —  Iron  and  Steel,  November,  1899. 

Saturday  afternoon  the  first  beets  began  their  journey  from  the  sheds 
into  the  Kalamazoo  factory. 

It  was  the  signal  for  the  starting  of  the  entire  plant,  which  will  be 
continued  in  operation  until  the  campaign  is  ended. 

The  actual  starting  was  witnessed  by  a  number  of  officers  and  stock- 
holders. Sunday  morning  half  of  the  entire  plant  was  in  operation. 
Beets  were  sent  in  a  practically  continuous  stream  into  the  factory, 
through  the  washer  and  thence  up  the  elevator,  through  the  automatic 
scale,  to  the  grinding  machine,  and  finally  to  fall  into  the  diffusion 
battery. 

All  was  activity  and  bustle.  The  experts  were  at  their  respective 
stations  directing  the  movements  of  the  laborers  and  watching  the  oper- 
ation of  the  machinery.  The  officers  watched  it  all  closely  and  everybody 
congratulated  everybody  else  on  the  successful  starting  of  the  big  factory. 

During  the  forenoon  the  juice  from  the  diffusion  battery  was  sent 
through  the  various  processes.  The  chemists  with  their  testing  tubes 
watched  the  liquid  sugar  in  its  various  states. 

Tuesday  the  management  expected  that  the  product  of  the  beets 
would  be  sent  through  the  entire  plant,  when  the  white  sugar  would  fall 
in  a  stream  from  the  last  machine. 

An  officer  says  that  a  ready  market  will  be  found  for  every  pound 
of  sugar  turned  out.  "In  fact,"  said  he,  "we  could  have  sold  twice 
the  capacity  of  the  plant  even  at  this  time." 

"  Everything  worked  smoothly  at  the  plant,"  said  Treasurer  Henry 
this  morning.  "  We  had  to  start  the  machinery  gradually,  in  order  to 
see  that  every  separate  piece  is  in  good  order.  This  first  sugar  may, 
however,  be  off  color,  compelling  the  men  to  send  it  through  again.  But 
as  soon  as  the  men  get  all  in  good  order,  the  sugar  will  be  as  fine  as 
any." 

Mr.  Henry  could  not  say  as  to  how  long  the  campaign  will  last.  He 
said  that  beets  are  coming  in  every  day,  and  many  car  loads  are  expected 
to  arrive  for  many  days  to  come.  Southern  Michigan  soil  has  proven  its 
superiority  as  a  beet  producer.  —  Michigan  Sugar  Beet,  December  /,  1899, 

72 


OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  J 

Of 


00VOIHO 
•UJAVUON9 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
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AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
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OVERDUE. 


4{^  ^    1937 

APR  2i,  is 

to 

•:         19Apr  50J  c 

LD  21-5m-6,'37 

